曼昆宏观经济学课件mankiw7e-chap08.ppt

* * * In the Solow model, the long-run economic growth rate equals the rate of technological progress, which is exogenous in the model. Hence, the Solow model is basically saying “all I can tell you is that growth in living standards depends on technological progress. I have no idea what drives technological progress.” Endogenous growth theory tries to explain the behavior of the rates of technological progress and/or productivity growth, rather than merely taking these rates as given. * This is an extremely simple model, yet has a powerful implication (to be developed below). * Y and K grow at the same rate because A is constant. Discussion: The return to capital is the incentive to invest. If capital exhibits diminishing returns, then the incentive to invest decreases as the economy grows. Hence, investment cannot be a source of sustained growth. However, in this model, MPK does not fall as K rises, so the incentive to invest never declines, people will always find it worthwhile to save and invest over and above depreciation, so investment becomes an engine of growth. The $64,000 question: Does capital exhibit diminishing or constant marginal returns? The answer is critical, for it determines whether investment explains sustained (i.e. steady-state) growth in productivity and living standards. See the next slide for discussion. * * Before presenting this model, it might be helpful to tell students that it is an extension of something they already know - the Solow model with tech progress. There are two differences: First, a fraction of the labor force does not produce goods services, but rather produces “knowledge” by doing research in universities. Second, the rate of tech progress is not exogenous, but rather depends on how fast the stock of knowledge grows, which in turn depends on how much labor the economy has allocated to research. If you have a few minutes of class time after presenting the model, you should consider having your s