Robert Solow

Economics American 1924 100 quotes

A Nobel laureate whose Solow-Swan model provided a fundamental framework for understanding economic growth and the role of technological progress.

Quotes by Robert Solow

The long-run rate of growth of output per head is determined by the rate of technical progress and the rate of growth of the labor force.

A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth 1956

There is no reason to believe that the natural rate of unemployment is a constant of nature.

Growth Theory: An Exposition 1970

You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.

New York Times Book Review 1987

The world can, in effect, get along without economics, but it can't get along without economists.

Nobel Prize Lecture 1987

Economic growth is a complicated business. It's not just a matter of accumulating capital.

Interview 1999

The main point of economic theory is to tell you what you can't do.

Nobel Prize Lecture 1987

The future of economic growth depends on our ability to innovate and to apply new knowledge.

Speech 2000

The problem with economics is that it's too much like physics and not enough like biology.

Interview 1990

The purpose of economic policy is to make people better off, not to make the economy grow faster.

Speech 2005

Technical progress is not just a matter of inventing new machines; it's also a matter of inventing new ways of organizing production.

Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function 1957

The only way to have a sustainable economy is to have a growing economy.

Interview 2010

Economics is not a natural science, but it's not just a matter of opinion either.

Speech 1995

The most important thing about economic models is not whether they are true, but whether they are useful.

Nobel Prize Lecture 1987

The market is a good servant but a bad master.

Interview 2008

The distribution of income is not just a matter of economics; it's also a matter of ethics.

Speech 2012

The real challenge for economics is to understand how institutions affect economic outcomes.

Interview 2003

Growth is not an end in itself, but a means to an end: human well-being.

Speech 2015

The role of government in the economy is not to replace the market, but to make it work better.

Interview 2009

The most important thing I learned in economics is that everything is connected to everything else.

Nobel Prize Lecture 1987

The history of economic thought is a history of mistakes.

Interview 1998