In macroeconomics, the balanced-growth path of a dynamic model is a trajectory such that all variables grow at a constant rate. In the standard exogenous growth model, balanced growth is a basic assumption, while other variables like the capital stock, real GDP, and output per worker are growing. Developing economies may adopt a strategy of unbalanced growth to rectify previous investment decisions, as put forward by economist Albert O. Hirschman.
In microbiology, the state of balanced-growth in liquid cultures is ideal for performing experiments because all bacteria are at about the same state (as opposed to stationary phase, for example, where some cells are alive and others are dead). Machines like chemostats can be used to culture bacteria and keep them in a state of balanced-growth for long-term experiments.
Famous quotes containing the word equilibrium:
“When a person hasn’t in him that which is higher and stronger than all external influences, it is enough for him to catch a good cold in order to lose his equilibrium and begin to see an owl in every bird, to hear a dog’s bark in every sound.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)