Neoclassical theories of exogenous and endogenous growth pay a heavy price, in the form of deficiencies in treatment, implausible results and the need for artificial assumptions, because they are based on the traditional and flawed marginalist explanation of distribution.

* This paper originated in a course on theories of growth and economic development offered by Franklin Serrano (with the help of unpublished notes by Cesaratto) at CEPAL in Santiago, Chile in 1997, for which he would like to thank the CEPAL staff and in particular R. Bielschowsky. Franklin Serrano also thanks CNPq-Brazil for continuous financial support and Fabio Freitas (IE-UFRJ) for countless discussions on the theme. Sergio Cesaratto thanks the Italian Ministry of the University for financial support.

 ** Franklin Serrano (franklin.s@openlink.com.br) and Sergio Cesaratto (cesaratto@unisi.it) are Associate Professors at the Instituto de Economia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and at the Dipartimento di Economia Politica, Università di Siena, respectively.
 
August 03, 2002.