Reflections About the Food–Energy–Water Nexus in a World …
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Fig. 3 Growth of GDP/capita − 1 = 100, *Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA. Source Own
calculations (2020), based on Maddison (Groningen Growth and Development Centre (GGDC))
[48], in 1990 International Geary-Khamis dollars
This historic overview demonstrates well that for nearly 1700 years, low or no
per capita GDP growth was a normal global development, as Table 3 shows.
Between year 1 and 1913, the economic output (GDP/capita) of Western Europe
increased by just about 0.09% annually. In Africa and Asia, GDP/per capita increased
by roughly 0.02% per year, whereas Europe and Latin America grew by similar rates
(+0.07%). Only the Western Offshoots (USA, New Zealand, Australia, Canada) grew
at slightly higher rates (+0.13%). Accordingly, across all regions the per capita GDP
grew on average by about 0.06% annually until 1913, as Table 3 shows.
In the following, we will focus on three countries (China, Germany, USA) in Asia,
Europe and the Western Offshoots in further detail in order to elaborate the welfare
effects exemplarily.
Table 3 Average annual
GDP/capita growth rate
between
1 and 1820 (%) 1 and 1913 (%)
30 Western Europe states
0.04
0.09
7 East European countries
0.03
0.07
Latin America
0.03
0.07
Western offshoots
0.06
0.13
Asia
0.01
0.02
Africa
−0.01
0.02
World average
0.02
0.06
Source Own calculations (2020) based on Maddison [48]