AGGREGATE PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS AND MEDIUM-RANGE GROWTH PROJECTIONS,
Abstract
This Memorandum is an analysis and comparison of the implications of several different but related aggregative models of long-run economic growth. These models differ somewhat in both their ex planations of past economic growth and their pro jections of future growth. The analysis bey examining the variables and relationships stressed by the various models, and the different explanations of the 1929-1960 growth record that these models provide. A general aggregative production function is developed which includes the various models as special cases. The role of growth of the labor supply, of capital for mation, of technological advance, and of rising educational standards is examined within the framework of the models. Finally, the study examines a number of growth projections for the American economy, attempts to evaluate them within the framework provided by the general model, and suggests some of the major uncertainties involved in growth projections. One of the major con clusions of the study is that projections of U.S. growth over the next decade are extremely sensi tive to the economic model used in making those projections, and in particular to the assumed rates of growth of capital stock and total factor productivity. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1963
- Accession Number
- AD0426922
Entities
People
- Richard R. Nelson
Organizations
- RAND Corporation