This paper questions the assumption in all of mainstream growth theory that the Harrod natural rate of growth is exogenously determined and independent of the pressure of demand in an economy. We first present a simple statistical technique for estimating the natural rate of growth, and then...

This paper applies the balance-of-payments-constrained growth model to 17 countries of Latin America over the period 1977-2002. The crucial parameter to estimate is the income elasticity of demand for imports, which is done for Latin America as a whole and for individual countries. As well as...