ON THE CONCEPT OF OPTIMAL ECONOMIC 
GROWTH (*) 
TJALLING C. KOOPMANS (**) 
Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale Universita 
New Haven. Conn - USA 
APPROACHES 11 
TiIE LITERATURE 
The search for a principle from which an « optimal » rate 
of economic growth can be deduced holds great fascination to 
economists. A variety of attitudes or approaches to this pro- 
blem can be discerned in the literature. 
One school of thought, represented among others by Pro- 
fessor BAUER [1957], favors that balance between the welfare 
of present and future generations that is implied in the spon- 
taneous and individual savings decisions of the present gene- 
ration. A policy implementing this preference would merely 
seek to arrange for tax collection and other government actions 
affecting the economy in such a way as to distort or amend the 
individual savings preferences as little as possible. 
(*) This research was undertaken by the Cowles Foundation for Research 
in Economics, under Task NR 047-006 with the Office of Naval Research, 
and completed under a grant from the National Science Foundation. An 
abbreviated version of this paper was presented at a joint session of the 
American Econcmic Association and the Econometric Society on « Inter- 
temporal Economic Theory » in the Boston Meetings, December 1963. 
(**) I am indebted to S CHakRavarTy. E S. Purrps and H. F. SCARF 
for valuable comments 
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Koopmans - pag.