L DISCUSSION

Discussion boards are mean to encourage an exchange of ideas. To do this, you are required to make two posts: One post directly answering my discussion question (see below), and a second post as a comment on someone else’s answer (of course being respectful of the person).

Each post should be relevant to the topic, contain references to economic concepts, and be at least 150 words (each).

Scoring:

The max score for the entire board is 10 points

Each post will have a max score of 5 points

• 5 points = if post is on topic and includes discussion of economic concepts, and is at least 150 words

• 1 – 4 point = if not on topic, not discussing economic concepts, or not 150 words

• 0 points = if not substantial at all (for example just saying something like: that’s a good point, I agree with you)

Discussion Question: Your outlook on long term growth and the future

In chapter 8, two of the big ideas that were presented were conditional convergence theory, and new growth theory. Conditional convergence theory says that currently low income nations can “catch up” with currently high income nations, assuming they meet the right conditions for growth, namely a set of pro-growth institutions. New growth theory offers a explanation of how sustained economic growth is possible for everyone, with the right incentives creating ever expanding technological knowledge and innovation, and a spreading of those ideas across all productive agents.

With those ideas now presented, what is your outlook on the future?

A. Can you see a future where low income nations (like the ones mentioned in the last discussion board) catch up and have a standard of living similar to advanced economies like the U.S.? If so, what gives you that optimistic view? If not, what do you see as major obstacles keeping these low income nations off the convergence track?

B. Can you see a future where the economic growth experienced over past decades, even centuries in some cases, is sustained? Are there sustainability issues that concern you (and here I don’t just mean environmental, but also sociological, political, technological…)? Can we innovate our way past these concerns? What sort of world do you see for future generations in terms of scarcity and wellbeing?

You can answer one or both of the questions150 WORDS MINIMUM FOR THE DISCUSSION

CLASSMATE RESPONSE

A: After talking about the conditional convergence theory in class, it has changed how I think about and view lower income nations who are trying to achieve rapid economic growth. While it is evident that many low income nations are not able and may never be able to escape their poverty traps, realizing that there is room for them to catch up, due to the slowing growth of high income nations is an encouraging thought. However, one country that comes to mind is Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has a GDP per Capita of 1,267, easily making them a low income nation. Zimbabwe has struggled with their economy mainly due to their corrupt and failing government. Issues such as extremely high inflation have caused them to struggle to grow their economy. Their economic growth is down almost 2% from last year. This makes it difficult to see a future where Zimbabwe could catch up to edvanced economies. While I would like to be optimistic for their success, their economic growth over the last 50+ years has been extremely unstable and their government continues to fail. Their high inflation and corrupt government are keeping them off the convergence track.

RESPOND TO THE CLASSMATE ABOVE WITH 150 words