This page lists books and articles that are a good introduction to theory and/or evidence on economic growth. A more complete list of books on growth is also available.
The best places to start, for those new to the field, are probably the recent books by Easterly, Gylfason, Helpman, Jones, and Weil. For those familiar with the basic ideas, the symposium in the Winter 1994 issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives has some good discussion.
A very good introduction to growth theory is provided by Solow (2000). Longer and more technical presentations of growth models can be found in the books by Aghion and Howitt (1998) and Barro and Sala-i-Martin (2004). Empirical work is surveyed by Durlauf, Johnson and Temple (2005), Durlauf and Quah (1999), McGrattan and Schmitz (1999) and Temple (1999), the last being the least technical of the four. Keely and Quah (1998) examine the role of technology in growth.
Durlauf, Steven N., Johnson, Paul A., and Temple, Jonathan R. W. (2005). Growth econometrics. In P. Aghion and S. N. Durlauf (eds.) Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, North-Holland: Amsterdam, 2005, pp. 555-677.
Weil, David N. (2005). Economic growth Pearson, Addison Wesley.
George, Donald A. R., Oxley, Les and Carlaw, Kenneth I. (2004). Surveys in economic growth: theory and empirics Oxford: Blackwell. This volume collects articles from a special issue of the Journal of Economic Surveys.
Helpman, Elhanan (2004). The mystery of economic growth. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Rogers, Mark (2003). Knowledge, Technological Catch-up and Economic Growth. Edward Elgar.
Easterly, William and Levine, Ross (2001). It's not factor accumulation: stylized facts and growth models. World Bank Economic Review, 15(2), 177-219.
Kenny, Charles and David Williams (2001) What Do Economists Know About Economic Growth ? Or Why Don't They Know Very Much? World Development, 29(1).
Romer, David (2001). Advanced macroeconomics, 2nd edition, chapters 1-3. McGraw-Hill, Boston, Mass.
Aron, Janine (2000). Growth and institutions: a review of the evidence. World Bank Research Observer, February, 15(1).
Solow, Robert M. (2000). Growth theory: an exposition (2nd edition). Oxford University Press, Oxford. This book brings together his Radcliffe lectures on exogenous growth theory, his Nobel Prize lecture, and his Siena Lectures on endogenous growth theory.
Gylfason, Thorvaldur (1999). Principles of Economic Growth. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
McGrattan, Ellen R. and Schmitz, James A. Jr (1999). Explaining cross-country income differences. In Handbook of macroeconomics. Volume 1A. Amsterdam, New York and Oxford: Elsevier Science, North-Holland, 669-737.
Temple, Jonathan (1999). The new growth evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 37(1), March, 112-156.
Topel, Robert (1999). Labor markets and economic growth. In Handbook of labor economics. Volume 3C. Amsterdam; New York and Oxford: Elsevier Science, North-Holland, 2943-84.
Keely, Louise C. and Quah, Danny T. (1998). Technology in growth. CEP discussion paper no. 391.
de la Fuente, Angel (1997). The empirics of economic growth and convergence: a selective review. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 21, 23-73.
Jones, Charles I. (1997). An introduction to economic growth. Norton.
Jones, Charles I. (1997). On the evolution of the world income distribution. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer, 11(3), 19-36.
Jones, Larry and Manuelli, Rodolfo (1997). The sources of growth. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 21, 75-114.
Klenow, Peter and Rodriguez-Clare, Andres (1997). Economic Growth: a review essay. Journal of Monetary Economics, 40(3), 597-617.
Nelson, Richard (1997). How new is new growth theory? Challenge, 40(5), September/October, 29-58.
Sachs, Jeffrey D. and Warner, Andrew M. (1997). Fundamental sources of long-run growth. American Economic Review, May, 87(2), 184-88.
Crafts, N. F. R. and Toniolo, G. (1996). Economic growth in Europe since 1945. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
McCallum, B. T. (1996). Neoclassical vs. endogenous growth analysis: an overview. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly, Fall 1996. Also NBER working paper no. 5844.
Olson, Mancur (1996). Big bills left on the sidewalk: why some nations are rich, and others poor. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10(2), Spring 1996, 3-24.
Crafts, N. F. R. (1995). Exogenous or endogenous growth? The Industrial Revolution reconsidered. Journal of Economic History, December, 745-772
Mankiw, N. Gregory (1995). The growth of nations. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1
Alesina, A. and Perotti, R. (1994). The political economy of growth: a critical survey of the recent literature. World Bank Economic Review, 8(3), 351-371.
Fagerberg, J. (1994). Technology and international differences in growth rates. Journal of Economic Literature, 1147-1175.
Garcia-Penalosa, C. (1994). Inequality and growth: a note on recent theories. Investigaciones Economicas, 18, 97-116.
Grossman, Gene M. and Helpman, Elhanan (1994). Endogenous innovation in the theory of growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1994, 23-44.
Nelson, Richard R. (1994). What has been the matter with neoclassical growth theory? In G. Silverberg and L. Soete (eds.) The economics of growth and technical change. Edward Elgar, Aldershot.
Pack, Howard (1994). Endogenous growth theory: intellectual appeal and empirical shortcomings. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8, 55-72.
Romer, Paul M. (1994). The origins of endogenous growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives,Winter 1994, 8, 3-22.
Solow, Robert M. (1994). Perspectives on growth theory. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1994, 45-54.
Hammond, P. J. and Rodriguez-Clare, A. (1993). On endogenizing long run growth. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 95, 391-425.
Romer, Paul M. (1993). Idea gaps and object gaps in economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 32(3), December, 543-73.
Helpman, Elhanan (1992). Endogenous macroeconomic growth theory. European Economic Review, 36, 237-267.
Krugman, Paul (1992). Toward a counter-counterrevolution in development theory. Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics.
Van der Ploeg, F. and Tang, P. J. G. (1992). The macroeconomics of growth: an international perspective. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 8(4), Winter, 15-28.
Verspagen. B. (1992). Endogenous innovation in neo-classical growth models: a survey. Journal of Macroeconomics, Fall 1992, 631-662.
Solow, Robert M. (1991). Growth theory. In D. Greenaway, M. Bleaney, and I. Stewart (eds.) Companion to contemporary economic thought. Routledge, London.
Stern, N. (1991). The determinants of growth. Economic Journal, 101, 122-133.