What makes growth sustained?

We identify structural breaks in economic growth in 140 countries and use these to define growth spells: periods of high growth preceded by an upbreak and ending either with a downbreak or with the end of the sample. Growth spells tend to be shorter in African and Latin American countries than elsewhere. We find evidence that growth duration is positively related to: the degree of equality of the income distribution; democratic institutions; export orientation (with higher propensities to export manufactures, greater openness to EDI, and avoidance of exchange rate overvaluation favorable for duration); and macroeconomic stability. (C) 2011 International Monetary Fund. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.