ABSTRACT
Kaldor's inaugural lecture as professor of economics in the University of Cambridge in 1966 marks the beginning of the next stage of his theorizing and the end of his reliance on "equilibrium methodology." He took as his subject the "causes of high and low rates of economic growth under capitalism," putting forth what he later insisted was "a complex thesis." 1 He began with comparative growth rates, noting that the United Kingdom invariably was "near the bottom of league-tables." He reviewed the allegations of blame that were generally offered, such as the inefficiency of management or the educational system. He felt that while many of these contained truth, they were generally "not capable of being tested." He suggested an alternative approach that sought to explain the differences in growth rates in terms of the stage of economic development of the different countries, arguing that the British economy had reached a high stage of maturity earlier than others. He then offered evidence of his thesis. He eschewed any temptation to attribute causal significance to a statistical relationship "unless it can be shown to be consistent with some general hypothesis, which can be supported by other evidence." He found that the different growth rates were largely accounted for by differences in the rates of growth of productivity, and that this was related to technology. And he asked, "Is there some general reason which makes the rate of increase of output-per-man ... dependent on the rate of growth of manufacturing production?" Does the size of the manufacturing sector explain the facts? Does the existence of economies of scale or increasing returns?
