Beyond Solow: Long-Run Growth in Intermediate Macroeconomics

For decades the Solow model has been a workhorse in intermediate macroeconomics classrooms and textbooks. The explanatory power, analytic simplicity, and intuitive graphical exposition combine to make the model an indispensable part of the undergraduate macroeconomics canon. There is much less consensus on what, if anything, should be covered beyond the Solow model. Given that sustained economic growth has only occurred over the last two centuries, I argue that the Solow model should be part of a more comprehensive class module on economic growth. The module would begin with the logic of the Malthusian trap, move to the Solow model, and conclude with a model of endogenous technology growth. Some class time can also be devoted to the institutional, cultural, and geographic reasons that plausibly keep some countries in the Malthusian trap. Taken together, this module provides students with a comprehensive, yet accessible, view of macroeconomic history.