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What Are the Causes of Economic Growth?

K.C. Bruning
K.C. Bruning

Most of the causes of economic growth are related to a nation’s ability to increase production, the quality of its product, and its capacity to ship to other countries. Some of the specific factors that contribute to this increase include the presence of sufficient labor, land, and enterprise. For this reason, the roots of economic growth can have more to do with improving the lives of citizens in general than any specific business enterprise.

An increase in the quantity of goods produced is one of the key causes of economic growth. Elements that can encourage this growth include strengthening of the labor force; better utilization of resources; and improved access to necessary land, tools, and materials. By addressing the underlying problems that prevent access to these things, such as conflict and poverty, a nation can begin to grow.

Businesswoman talking on a mobile phone
Businesswoman talking on a mobile phone

Boosting the quality of goods is also one of the causes of economic growth. Once production has increased, systems can be improved with experience and trial and error. These efficiencies can free resources to work on improving the product. As this cycle repeats itself, the nation becomes wealthier as it works more effectively at making goods of increasingly higher quality. Better efficiencies also often mean that the time needed to make products decreases, which can also increase wealth due to better productivity.

One of the causes of economic growth is economic growth itself. As a nation expands and increasingly improves the services it offers its population, that population becomes stronger and better able to build the nation further. This cycle can cause the population to grow faster as well.

Population growth can also be one of the causes of economic growth. This is primarily because there are more customers for the products produced by the nation’s industries. As the population base spreads, more opportunities develop, which increase the chances of stability and prosperity. It can also cause economic decline if available resources are not sufficient to support an expanding population.

Increasing amounts of high quality labor is another common cause of economic growth. An expanding population with increasingly more workers can boost a nation’s ability to build industries. When these workers are trained to be progressively more skilled, the quality of product improves, which can also add to growth. Building the abilities of the workforce may also enable the development of higher value products, which can further increase wealth.

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