Over long periods of time, even small rates of growth, such as a 2% annual increase, have large effects...... For example, the United Kingdom experienced a 1.97% average annual increase in its inflation-adjusted GDP between 1830 and 2008. In 1830, the GDP was 41,373 million pounds. It grew to 1,330,088 million pounds by 2008. A growth rate that averaged 1.97% over 178 years resulted in a 32-fold increase in GDP by 2008. The large impact of a relatively small growth rate over a long period of...