Macroeconomic regularities in the growth of nations : an empirical inquiry

Abstract

Abstract This paper analyses empirically the process of economic development from what may be called a system-theory point of view. The four macroeconomic variables primarily considered are the population, the gross national product (GNP), the value of foreign trade and the total receipt of the government's budget, which for a given country grossly characterize its extent, its economic activity, its interactions with the international environment and its centralization level, respectively. The question is whether stable relations hold between these variables in the course of economic development. Two different and complementary viewpoints are taken : the first is an international comparison for almost all (non-communist) countries in the world, the second is an historical analysis for industrial countries. The conclusions are (i) for countries at the same level of development (i.e. with the same GNP/capita) but with different population levels, foreign trade will be proportional to population to the power...