Contenu de l'article

Titre Différentiel de croissance et analyse sectorielle
Auteur Ronan Le Berre, Michel Mousel
Mir@bel Revue Economie et prévision
Titre à cette date : Statistiques et études financières (Série orange)
Numéro no 44, 1980/4
Page 7-23
Résumé anglais Growth differential and sectoral analysis by Michel Mousel and Ronan Le Berre. The five countries which were the object of sectoral studies featured, over the reference period (1955-1977) highly contrasting growth rates. The « growth differential » or gap between the average growth of the five countries and the growth rate of each one ranges from — 1 ,4% for the U K. to + 4,6% for Japan. The usual global demographic or macroeconomic indicators do indeed show that there was a phenomenon of « catching up » of the more advanced of countries on the part of those which were less advanced. The greater the economic lag at the beginning of the period, the stronger the growth But they are not tantamount to explanations, and, furthermore, the notion of «catching up» cannot account for all the observations made — particularly as regards the U K. The sectoral approach enables us to get closer to the mechanisms which presided over evolutions First of all, it shows that the amplitude of structural changes in the productive apparatus bears a direct relation to the dynamism of growth. These changes have tended to bring the characteristics of the three countries with positive growth differentials (Japan, France and Federal Republic of Germany) closer to those of the U.SA. The evolution of relative productivity rates by sectors and by countries enables us to identify with some precision the respective roles of the main components of the productive system, those which act as brakes and those which, on the contrary, exert a motive force. The latter is particularly the case in the capital equipment sector of entreprises and households. If we can understand the particular role it plays through its function of stimulator and spreader of technological progress in the rest of the economy, it is important to spot for future reference in what fields such action can be exerted. These fields do not necessarily belong only to the capital equipment sector : it may be that energy, transport and communications, and the services renovated by computerization will subsequently contribute to this motive role.
Source : Éditeur (via Persée)
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