Dietrich Vollrath

Economist at the University of Houston; wrote Fully Grown, on why a slow-growing economy is a sign of success, and blogs at Growth Economics.

Dietrich Vollrath did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake

Blog x.com

What they believe

Sustained growth in living standards required productivity to accelerate and population growth to fall at the same time.

It was an acceleration in productivity combined with a decline in population growth that put us on a slow trudge towards utopia.

growthecon.comSaid 11 Oct 2022This on korrents

The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.

All 5 beliefs, on korrents

Feed

As its own page →

Everything, newest first — across every channel.

Sources

11 October 2022

Dietrich VollrathKorrents 11 Oct 2022

From one piece Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia" 5 beliefs · growthecon.com

korrents.com
The fall in fertility deserves equal billing with the research lab, the corporation and globalisation in the story of modern growth.

demographics

Their words

What I’m nitpicking here is that this decline in fertility deserves equal billing with the research lab, corporation, and globalization.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia"growthecon.com
korrents.com
The research lab, the corporation and globalisation could not have produced sustained growth without the fall in fertility beside them.

demographics

Their words

Without this anti-Malthusian response the research lab, corporation, and globalization cannot provide sustained growth.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia"growthecon.com
korrents.com
What broke the Malthusian trap was that productivity growth raised the price of bringing a child to adulthood.

Their words

The key change is that productivity growth, starting around 1870, reached down and profoundly raised the price of bringing a child to adulthood.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia"growthecon.com

+ 2 more

korrents.com
Before about 1870 every burst of productivity growth was eaten by a burst of population growth, leaving living standards where they were.

Their words

Prior to this inflection point, productivity growth had increased before, but every time had induced a response of higher population growth rates, eroding any gains in per-person living standards.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia"growthecon.com
korrents.com
Sustained growth in living standards required productivity to accelerate and population growth to fall at the same time.

Their words

It was an acceleration in productivity combined with a decline in population growth that put us on a slow trudge towards utopia.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia"growthecon.com

10 December 2015

Dietrich VollrathRecommends 10 Dec 2015

Lovedrcmnd.app
Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Their words

Tom Holland's Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic is a great introduction to the era. He writes in an engaging style, but provides enough information and analysis to make you think.

growthecon.com
Likedrcmnd.app
Romes Revolution: Death of the Republic and Birth of the Empire

Their words

Richard Allston's Romes Revolution: Death of the Republic and Birth of the Empire argues that you have to understand the nature of Roman social networks to understand what happened to allow the Republic to die.

growthecon.com
Lovedrcmnd.app
The Roman Revolution

Their words

Ronald Syme's The Roman Revolution is a classic in this area. Written in 1939, it is one of those books that presumes the reader is already educated in classical history. So I'd suggest trying some of the others first before you tackle this one, unless of course you graduated from Oxford in 1917. For all that, it is an excellent book, albeit quite grim.

growthecon.com

+ 5 more

Likedrcmnd.app
From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68

Their words

H.H. Scullard's From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68 is another classic in this arena. A little more accessible than Syme's work, and not a bad intro.

growthecon.com
Dislikedrcmnd.app
The Collapse of Rome: Marius, Sulla, and the First Civil War

Their words

Gareth Sampson's The Collapse of Rome: Marius, Sulla, and the First Civil War is not a great book. It's very much "and then this battle happened" kind of history.

growthecon.com
Mixed onrcmnd.app
Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

Their words

Tom Holland's Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar is really about a different time. He provides some background, but the first part of this book is about how Augustus built his dictatorship into a hereditary dynasty. The second part is about how Augustus' various relatives tried desperately to screw this up. I didn't find this book nearly as engaging as Rubicon.

growthecon.com
Recommendsrcmnd.app
Lives

Their words

Plutarch's Lives . One of the classic "original" sources, despite the fact that Plutarch was writing himself from other sources. Regardless, much of the story of this era is based on guys like Plutarch, so it is worth reading.

growthecon.com
Recommendsrcmnd.app
The Civil Wars

Their words

Appian's The Civil Wars . Again, an "original" source that forms a lot of the basis of later history.

growthecon.com

The whole feed →

Beliefs

Korrents What they believe 5 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
- Sustained growth in living standards required productivity to accelerate and population growth to fall at the same time.
  
  It was an acceleration in productivity combined with a decline in population growth that put us on a slow trudge towards utopia.
  
  Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia" Said 11 Oct 2022
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Before about 1870 every burst of productivity growth was eaten by a burst of population growth, leaving living standards where they were.
  
  Prior to this inflection point, productivity growth had increased before, but every time had induced a response of higher population growth rates, eroding any gains in per-person living standards.
  
  Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia" Said 11 Oct 2022
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- What broke the Malthusian trap was that productivity growth raised the price of bringing a child to adulthood.
  
  The key change is that productivity growth, starting around 1870, reached down and profoundly raised the price of bringing a child to adulthood.
  
  Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia" Said 11 Oct 2022
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
Show 2 more

The research lab, the corporation and globalisation could not have produced sustained growth without the fall in fertility beside them.

Without this anti-Malthusian response the research lab, corporation, and globalization cannot provide sustained growth.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia" Said 11 Oct 2022

Full record — everyone who holds this →

demographics

The fall in fertility deserves equal billing with the research lab, the corporation and globalisation in the story of modern growth.

What I’m nitpicking here is that this decline in fertility deserves equal billing with the research lab, corporation, and globalization.

Review of DeLong's "Slouching Towards Utopia" Said 11 Oct 2022

Full record — everyone who holds this →

demographics
All 5 beliefs →

What is a korrent?

A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.

Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.

Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.

Recommends rcmnd

rcmnd What they recommend 8 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
- Recommends The Civil Wars 10 Dec 2015
  
  Appian's The Civil Wars . Again, an "original" source that forms a lot of the basis of later history.
  
  growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015
  
  What others say about The Civil Wars →
- Recommends Lives 10 Dec 2015
  
  Plutarch's Lives . One of the classic "original" sources, despite the fact that Plutarch was writing himself from other sources. Regardless, much of the story of this era is based on guys like Plutarch, so it is worth reading.
  
  growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015
  
  What others say about Lives →
- Mixed on Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar 10 Dec 2015
  
  Tom Holland's Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar is really about a different time. He provides some background, but the first part of this book is about how Augustus built his dictatorship into a hereditary dynasty. The second part is about how Augustus' various relatives tried desperately to screw this up. I didn't find this book nearly as engaging as Rubicon.
  
  growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015
  
  What others say about Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar →
Show 5 more

Disliked The Collapse of Rome: Marius, Sulla, and the First Civil War 10 Dec 2015

Gareth Sampson's The Collapse of Rome: Marius, Sulla, and the First Civil War is not a great book. It's very much "and then this battle happened" kind of history.

growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015

What others say about The Collapse of Rome: Marius, Sulla, and the First Civil War →

Liked From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68 10 Dec 2015

H.H. Scullard's From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68 is another classic in this arena. A little more accessible than Syme's work, and not a bad intro.

growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015

What others say about From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68 →

Loved The Roman Revolution 10 Dec 2015

Ronald Syme's The Roman Revolution is a classic in this area. Written in 1939, it is one of those books that presumes the reader is already educated in classical history. So I'd suggest trying some of the others first before you tackle this one, unless of course you graduated from Oxford in 1917. For all that, it is an excellent book, albeit quite grim.

growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015

What others say about The Roman Revolution →

Liked Romes Revolution: Death of the Republic and Birth of the Empire 10 Dec 2015

Richard Allston's Romes Revolution: Death of the Republic and Birth of the Empire argues that you have to understand the nature of Roman social networks to understand what happened to allow the Republic to die.

growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015

What others say about Romes Revolution: Death of the Republic and Birth of the Empire →

Loved Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic 10 Dec 2015

Tom Holland's Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic is a great introduction to the era. He writes in an engaging style, but provides enough information and analysis to make you think.

growthecon.com 10 Dec 2015

What others say about Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic →
All 8 recommendations →

Where they publish

Blog Growth Economics His blog on economic growth and productivity. Has a feed.

Open growthecon.com

Link verified 20 Sept 2026.
x.com @DietzVollrath Their X account.

Open x.com

Link verified 23 Sept 2026.

About the English under a post

Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.

The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.

Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.