This collection of essays on Verdoorn's Law - the relationship between the growth of industrial productivity and output - presents a number of comprehensive surveys and assessments of the vast literature available. The collection not only includes an English translation of Verdoorn's seminal article originally published in Italian, but also new empirical evidence for the Verdoorn Law and new developments in the theoretical modelling of cumulative causation.

The book investigates the contemporary functioning of financial institutions and monetary policies in order to assess their effects in different economic situations. It advances some proposals to improve their contribution towards a more stable and vigorous economy in the context of both developed and developing countries.