This paper studies a simple endogenous growth model to explain growth slowdowns. It is designed to explain, for example, the middle income trap often observed in the south-east Asian countries, the U.K.'s productivity puzzle after the Great Recession and the lost decades of Japan in a unified...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. BASIC FRAMEWORK -- III. BASELINE CALIBRATIONS -- IV. DOMESTIC ADDITIONAL EFFORT, POVERTY TRAPS, AND "TAKEOFF" -- V. EXTENSIONS -- VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS -- REFERENCES.