{"id":77605,"date":"2022-05-20T10:46:46","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T10:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/?post_type=problem_profile&#038;p=77605"},"modified":"2024-12-19T17:51:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T17:51:36","slug":"high-leverage-economic-growth","status":"publish","type":"problem_profile","link":"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/problem-profiles\/high-leverage-economic-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"High-leverage ways to speed up economic&nbsp;growth"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_white no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Table of Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#why-might-economic-growth-be-a-pressing-issue\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">1<\/span> Why might economic growth be a pressing issue?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#which-ways-to-increase-economic-growth-seem-especially-promising\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">2<\/span> Which ways to increase economic growth seem especially promising?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#learn-more-about-economic-growth-as-a-cause-area\"><span class=\"toc_number toc_depth_1\">3<\/span> Learn more about economic growth as a cause area<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"why-might-economic-growth-be-a-pressing-issue\" class=\"toc-anchor\"><\/span>Why might economic growth be a pressing issue?<\/h2>\n<p>Speeding up economic growth doesn&#8217;t seem as useful as more targeted ways to improve the future, and in general we favour <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20180808153359\/https:\/\/blog.givewell.org\/2015\/09\/30\/differential-technological-development-some-early-thinking\/\">differential development<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, speeding up growth might still have large benefits, both for improving short-term and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20190903074431\/http:\/\/reflectivedisequilibrium.blogspot.com\/2018\/10\/flow-through-effects-of-saving-life.html\">long-term welfare<\/a>, and perhaps also for <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.effectivealtruism.org\/posts\/xh37hSqw287ufDbQ7\/existential-risk-and-economic-growth-1\">reducing existential threats<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The causes of growth already see considerable research within economics, though this area is still more neglected than many topics.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"which-ways-to-increase-economic-growth-seem-especially-promising\" class=\"toc-anchor\"><\/span>Which ways to increase economic growth seem especially promising?<\/h2>\n<p>Potential strategies for increasing growth include <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20191031140716\/https:\/\/www.copenhagenconsensus.com\/post-2015-consensus\/trade\">trade reform<\/a> (which also has the potential to reduce conflict), <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/problem-profiles\/immigration-restrictions\/\">immigration reform<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/problem-profiles\/land-use-reform\/\">land use reform<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openphilanthropy.org\/focus\/global-aid-policy\/\">increasing aid spending and effectiveness<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Institutional quality also seems to play a large role in development, so if there were a way to make improvements to institutions in developing countries, this could be an effective way to improve many people&#8217;s lives.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, legal and political changes in China seem to have been key to its economic development from the 1980s onwards. For a discussion of the importance of governing institutions for economic growth, see our <a href=\"\/podcast\/episodes\/lutter-and-winter-chater-cities-innovative-governance\/\">interview<\/a> with a group trying to found cities with improved legal infrastructure in the developing world.<\/p>\n<p>(Keep in mind, however, these efforts are often best pursued by citizens of the relevant countries. There is also substantial disagreement about which institutions are best, and the answers will vary depending on a country&#8217;s circumstances and culture.)<\/p>\n<p>A new field that might be especially promising to work in is <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221022231249\/https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/science\/archive\/2019\/07\/we-need-new-science-progress\/594946\/\">progress studies<\/a>, which investigates the causes of economic, technological, scientific, cultural, and organisational advancement.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"learn-more-about-economic-growth-as-a-cause-area\" class=\"toc-anchor\"><\/span>Learn more about economic growth as a cause area<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/podcast\/episodes\/sam-bowman-overcoming-nimbys-housing-policy-proposals\/\">Sam Bowman on why housing still isn&#8217;t fixed and what would actually work<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/podcast\/episodes\/tyler-cowen-stubborn-attachments\/\">Prof Tyler Cowen&#8217;s stubborn attachments to maximising economic growth, making civilization more stable, and respecting human rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/podcast\/episodes\/paul-niehaus-cash-transfers\/\">Paul Niehaus on whether cash transfers cause economic growth, and keeping theft to acceptable levels<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/podcast\/episodes\/mushtaq-khan-institutional-economics\/\">Mushtaq Khan on using institutional economics to predict effective government reforms<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/patrickcollison.com\/progress\">A list of resources on progress studies<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"tw--mt-6 tw--p-3 tw--pt-2 tw--bg-gray-lighter tw--rounded-md \">\n<h3 class=\"no-toc\">\t\t<a class=\"no-visited-styling tw--text-off-black hover:tw--text-off-black hover:tw--no-underline focus:tw--text-off-black\" href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/problem-profiles\/\">\t\t\t<small>Read next:&nbsp;<\/small>\t\t\tExplore other pressing world problems\t\t<\/a>\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"tw--grid xs:tw--grid-flow-col tw--gap-3\">\n<div class=\"xs:tw--order-last tw--pt-1\">\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/problem-profiles\/\">\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/sea-ocean-sky-night-cosmos-view-826635-pxhere.com_-720x448.jpg\" alt=\"Decorative post preview\" width=\"720\" height=\"448\">\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"tw--pb-3\">\n<p>Want to learn more about global issues we think are especially pressing? See our list of issues that are large in scale, solvable, and neglected, according to our research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\">\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/problem-profiles\/\" class=\"btn btn-primary\">Continue &rarr;<\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"well visible-if-not-newsletter-subscriber margin-bottom margin-top padding-top-small padding-bottom-small\">\n<h3 class=\"no-toc\">Plus, join our newsletter and we&#8217;ll mail you a free book<\/h3>\n<p>Join our newsletter and we&#8217;ll send you a free copy of <em>The Precipice<\/em> \u2014 a book by philosopher Toby Ord about how to tackle the greatest threats facing humanity. <a href=\"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/free-book\/#giveaway-terms\">T&#038;Cs here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<form data-80k-object-id=\"\" data-80k-form-action=\"newsletter__subscribe\" action=\"\/\" method=\"post\" class=\"form-newsletter-signup form-newsletter-signup-step-1 margin-bottom-smaller\">\n<div class=\"mc-field-group input-group compact-input-group \"> <input type=\"email\" value=\"\" name=\"email\" required class=\"form-control email\" placeholder=\"Email address\" id=\"input_email\"> <span class=\"submit input-group-btn input-group-btn-right\"> <input type=\"submit\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe\" value=\"GET THE BOOK\" class=\"btn btn-primary \" \/> <\/span> <\/div>\n<div> <input name=\"_eightyk_action\" value=\"mailchimp_add_subscriber\" type=\"hidden\"> <input name=\"redirect_path_after_step_2\" value=\"\/newsletter\/welcome\/\" type=\"hidden\"> <\/div>\n<div style=\"position: absolute; left: -5000px;\"> <input type=\"text\" name=\"b_abc12f58bbe8075560abdc5b7_43bc1ae55c\" tabindex=\"-1\" value=\"\"> <\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":422,"featured_media":78279,"parent":0,"menu_order":17,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[291],"class_list":["post-77605","problem_profile","type-problem_profile","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-problems"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - 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