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In this paper we characterize all possible mechanisms of structural change by using a general multisector growth model, where preferences and technologies are not parameterized. We derive the growth rates of sectoral employment shares at the equilibrium of this generic set up. We find that the economic fundamentals that are behind of structural change are: (i) the income elasticities of the demand for consumption goods; (ii) the Allen-Uzawa elasticities of substitution between consumption goods; (iii) the capital income shares in sectoral outputs; and (iv) the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor in each sector. These economic indicators determine the relative importance of the growth rates of aggregate income, relative prices, rental rates and technological progress for the structural change. Finally, we develop an accounting exercise to quantify the contribution of each mechanism to the U.S. structural change. To this end, we first estimate the aforementioned fundamentals determining the weight of each mechanism.
