The book is about the well-known problem that a perfectlycompetitive economy, even if endowed with perfect foresight,can grow in an efficient manner. The causes of this strangeinefficiency are analyzed, and sufficientconditions forefficient economic growth are discussed. The most importantcontribution is the elaboration of a rather well-known, yetunproved, hypothesis which says that the existence of anonproducible productive asset, like land, prevents dynamicinefficiency. This is shown to hold outside steady stategrowth paths. Applications of the theoretical concepts andresults are straightforward and are discussed in detail. Theapplications include the efficient use of exhaustibleresources over time, the possibility of "bubbles" infinancial markets, the theory of interest rates, andquestions concerning optimal social security.
