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- Title
Technophysio evolution and the measurement of economic growth.
- Authors
Fogel, Robert William
- Abstract
During the past century, the nature of the economies of the rich nations has changed dramatically. But the accounts that economists currently use to measure economic growth, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per capita, are now inadequate. They do not take into account what Dora Costa and the author had called "technophysio evolution," by which they meant the synergism between rapid technological change and the improvement in human physiology. Worldwide, the most important aspect of technophysio evolution is the continuing conquest of chronic malnutrition, which was almost universal three centuries ago. The improvement in nutrition and human physiology accounts for much of the economic growth of rich nations. It has, for example, recently been estimated that about half of British economic growth since 1790 was due to technophysio evolution.
- Subjects
ECONOMIC development; DEVELOPED countries; COSTA, Dora; TECHNOLOGICAL innovations; HUMAN physiology; NUTRITION disorders; PREVENTION
- Publication
Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2004, Vol 14, Issue 2, p217
- ISSN
0936-9937
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00191-004-0188-x