Paper: GS – III, Subject: Economy, Topic: Growth and Development, Issue: Lessons on Growth.
Context:
Joel Mokyr, Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences (2025), emphasised on economic prosperity, innovation, and historical roots of growth. It provides crucial insights for present-day economic policy, growth strategies, and development studies.
Key Highlights:
Key Ideas on Economic Growth:
1. Economic Growth Often Resisted:
- Growth improves living standards and reduces drudgery of hard labour.
- But people often resist it due to fear of change, uncertainty and disruption of traditional ways of life (farmers, artisans reluctant to move to factories).
- For example, early Industrial Revolution workers resisted factory discipline.
2. Growth Depends on Innovations:
- Industrialization triggered by few key innovations such as steam engine, and mechanized cotton spinning.
- Innovations lead to new industries, jobs, and productivity growth.
3. Growth is Unpredictable:
- New technologies often emerge unexpectedly which will profoundly impact growth. For example, Aviation in 1920s vs cybersecurity of the present times.
4. Cultural & Institutional Factors Matter:
- Economic growth linked to openness, experimentation, and tolerance of new ideas.
- Societies valuing individual freedom and curiosity witnessed faster growth.
- For example, Scottish Enlightenment ideas of intellectual curiosity and scientific experimentation encouraged innovation.
5. Growth Requires More than Investment:
- Merely investing in money or infrastructure is insufficient.
- Long-term growth depends on ideas, innovation, and openness.
- Trial-and-error experimentation are critical for technological breakthroughs.
Conclusion:
Innovation, openness, and cultural acceptance of change are the real drivers of prosperity. For economies like India, adopting a flexible, innovation-friendly, and inclusive growth strategy is essential for long-term sustained development.
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