On the problem of identifying the engines of economic growth

This article investigates the empirical relationship between sectoral growth and income growth and in so doing casts doubt on previous studies which have argued that either export or agricultural growth enhances total income growth. It is shown that the evidence from the correlation and regression models used to date is inconclusive and that much of the measured impact of sectoral growth on overall income growth may be spurious in the sense that it can be explained by growth in the underlying inputs. Professor Rittenberg’s research interests include sources of economic growth, stabilization/liberalization policies, and Third World debt, with particular emphasis on the Turkish economy.