Does Slow Growth Matter?

Abstract

A high level of growth has been one of the goals of successive governments throughout the last century, but in a world where population growth is still very high, particularly in the less developed countries, and where developed nations are not the most efficient users of finite resources, then the ‘going for growth’ campaign is now subject to a number of qualifications. Countries are beginning to turn towards the idea of constrained growth, particularly those which are currently in the leading pack of industrial nations. But there are some just outside this group and others from less developed countries which feel that if they are to make up any ground in the world’s pecking order they must continue to strive for the highest growth rate possible, even though finite resources may be used up more rapidly, or that this growth may result in greater negative externalities. In other words, growth may well bring benefits to an individual country but the cost to the rest of the world may be excessive.