Robert Barro and Xavier Sala-i-Martin are titans in the field. Their empirical work on convergence—the idea that poorer economies tend to grow faster than richer ones, leading to a narrowing of income gaps—is woven throughout the text. Unlike undergraduate textbooks that rely heavily on graphs, Barro and Sala-i-Martin utilize continuous time mathematics, differential equations, and dynamic optimization. This rigor makes the book indispensable for those intending to conduct their own research, but it also creates a steep learning curve.
"Economic Growth" by Barro and Sala-i-Martin is a widely used textbook in graduate-level courses on economic growth and development. The book provides a thorough analysis of the theoretical and empirical aspects of economic growth, covering topics such as:
Barro and Sala-i-Martin begin with the neoclassical foundation, emphasizing .
This is where most students get lost. The solutions provide the Lagrangian or Hamiltonian derivations. Specifically, you will find the solution to the notoriously difficult "saddle path" stability analysis. The PDF solutions typically include graphs showing how consumption ($c$) and capital ($k$) return to the steady state after a shock.