1st Edition

An Analysis of Robert E. Lucas Jr.'s Why Doesn't Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries?

By Pádraig Belton Copyright 2017
    112 Pages
    by Macat Library

    112 Pages
    by Macat Library

    Robert Lucas is known among economists as one of the most influential macroeconomists of recent times – a reputation founded in no small part on the critical thinking skills displayed in his seminal 1990 paper ‘Why Doesn’t Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries?’

    Lucas’s paper tackles a puzzle in economic theory that has since come to be known as the ‘Lucas paradox,’ and it deploys the author’s brilliant problem solving skills to explain why such an apparent paradox in fact makes sense. Classical economic theory makes a simple prediction of how capital flows between countries: it should, it states, flow from rich to poor countries, because of the law of diminishing returns on capital. Since poor countries have so little capital invested in them, the returns on new investment should be proportionally far better than investment in rich countries.

    This should mean that investors seeking new opportunities will invest in poorer countries, making capital consistently flow from rich nations to poorer ones. But, problematically, this is not in fact the case. Having defined the problem, Lucas did what any good problem solver would: he looked critically at the criteria involved, and offered a series of possible solutions. Indeed, in just six pages, he puts forward four hypotheses to explain the paradox’s existence. The popularity of his paper, and the influence it has had, are also greatly magnified by careful reasoning embodied in Lucas’s marshalling of evidence and his explanations of the judgements he has made.

    Ways in to the Text 

    Who was Robert E. Lucas Jr.? 

    What does Why Doesn't Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries? Say? 

    Why does Why Doesn't Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries? Matter? 

    Section 1: Influences 

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 

    Module 2: Academic Context 

    Module 3: The Problem 

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution 

    Section 2: Ideas 

    Module 5: Main Ideas 

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

    Module 7: Achievement 

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work 

    Section 3: Impact 

    Module 9: The First Responses 

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate 

    Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 

    Module 12: Where Next? 

    Glossary of Terms 

    People Mentioned in the Text 

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Pádraig Belton is completing his doctoral research in politics and international relations at the University of Oxford. A prolific financial, business and political journalist, his work has appeared in publications including the Irish Times, the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, the Irish Independent, The Atlantic, the New Statesman, Prospect, the Times Literary Supplement, and Foreign Policy, as well as via the BBC.