ABSTRACT
The long-term growth of gross product depends on the increase in inputs - labour, land, and capital - and on technical progress, broadly defined to include organization, managerial skills, the opening of new markets, economies of scale, and the like. The measurement of input implies practical and theoretical difficulties which are probably greater than those faced when estimating production. Those who have grown up in the material and intellectual climate of the West during the last forty years will find it difficult to understand that only very recently has the final aim of modern economic growth been seen as the promotion of welfare for each citizen. According to Fua, total aggregate product per worker grew slowly until 1897 and then rose sharply, in part owing to the increase that took place in the agricultural sector. The low rate of growth in product and productivity before the end of the century raises problems of interpretation.
