1997 Articles

Georgescu-Roegen versus Solow/Stiglitz

Stiglitz, Joseph E.

Part of the problem arises from a lack of understanding of the role of the kind of analytic models that we (and others) have formulated. They are intended to help us answer questions like, for the intermediate run--for the next 50-60 years, is it possible that growth can be sustained? What does this possibility entail? We write down models as if they extend out to infinity, but no one takes these limits seriously--for one thing, an exponential increase in the population presents almost unimaginable problems of congestion on our limited planet.