ECON 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Diminishing Returns, Human Capital

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bluecaribou562

15 Mar 2016

School

University of Calgary

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 203

Professor

Peter Tracey

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ECON 203 Full Course Notes

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Productivity a country"s standard of living depends on its productivity (per capita gdp) Y: real gdp (output) (depends on all the things in the bracket) Constant returns to scale: if we increase (decrease) l, k, n, h, all by the same proportion then output will also increase (decrease) by that proportion. Output per worker when: a increase, k/l increase, n/l increase, h/l increase. Devoting resources to produce capital (k) requires devoting fewer resources to producing goods and services for current consumption. For society to invest more in machinery (k), it must consume less and save more of its current income. Governments can encourage saving (s) and investment (i) in order to raise the economy standard of living in the long-run. Diminishing returns and the catch-up effect: (increase in savings leads to more machines) s ^ k ^ rising productivity and more rapid growth in gdp but only for a while due to diminishing returns.

Related Questions

Use the following information to answer the next 2 questions: GDP per capita can be shown to equal average labor productivity times the proportion of the population that is employed (GDP/population= Y/L * L/population).

(a) The two factors that determine a nation's standard of living are: 1) the proportion of the population that works, and 2) its output per worker. The United States has an aging population and the proportion of the population that works is expected to decrease. Mexico has a relatively young population and, thus, the proportion of its population that works is expected to increase in the future. Given these circumstances, which of these two factors do you think is more relevant in each country for their standard of living? Explain your answer.

(b) Explain what happens with Econoland's total output (GDP) and its standard of living (as measured by GDP per capita) between 2014 and 2015, if we know the following information. The population of Econoland remains constant at 1,000 persons during both years. The number of employed workers increases from 400 in 2014 to 440 in 2015, but labor productivity, as measured by output per employed worker, decreases from $2,000 to $1,900 during the same time period. Show your derivations.

lemonlocust738

Consider an economy with the following production function:

Y = AK.5L.5
The labor force is constant. The rate of depreciation is Î´ = .1, the savings rate is s = .3.

a. Has this production function constant returns to scale? Why?

b. Write the production function in per worker variables.

c. Does the per worker production function have diminishing marginal returns to capital? Why?

d. Write the fundamental Solow equation in per worker variables.

e. Depict the steady state of this economy.

f. What are the growth rates of per worker output and capital in steady state?

g. Calculate the steady state level of capital, output, consumption and savings.

h. Redraw the initial equilibrium and show what happens when the savings rate increases. Do the growth

rates change?

i. Redraw the initial equilibrium and show what happens when there is a one time increase in population.

. Do the growth rates change?

j. Redraw the initial equilibrium and show what happens when there is a one time innovation that increases

productivity. Do the growth rates change?

k. Redraw the initial equilibrium and show what happens when there is constant productivity growth. Do

the growth rates change?

Question 3

According to Joseph Schumpeter, the theory of creative destruction describes a process by which

	A	some new products unleash a gale of destruction that drive other new products out of the market.
B		new products unleash a gale of destruction that drives old products out of the market.
C		new products are created by the destruction of capital.
D		the creation of new products never involves the destruction of old products.

Question 4

Which of the following countries had the highest GDP per capita in 2012?

		A Qatar
B		United States
C		Japan
D		Norway

Question 5

________ save a ________ of their income. This ________ capital in their economy and raises economic growth.

	A	Developing countries; large proportion; decreases
B		Developing countries; small proportion; increases
C		High-income countries; large proportion; increases
D		High-income countries; small proportion; increases

Question 6

The demand for loanable funds is determined by the willingness of ________ to borrow money to engage in new investment projects.

A		government
B		households
C		banks
D		firms

Question 7

The U.S. economy has been more stable since 1950.

True

False

Question 8

When the economy reaches a trough in a business cycle, which of the following will occur?

A		Income, production, and employment will continue to fall.
B		Income, production, and employment will begin to rise.
C		Income and production will rise, but employment will continue to fall.
D		Employment rises, but income and production will continue to fall.

Question 9

In a closed economy, what is the relationship between saving and investment?

A		Saving is greater than investment.
B		Investment is greater than saving.
C		Investment is equal to saving.
D		Investment may be greater or smaller than saving.

Question 10

The per-worker production function shows the relationship between ________ per hour worked and ________ per hour worked, holding ________ constant.

A		labor; real GDP; technology
B		capital; real GDP; technology
C		labor; capital; real GDP
D		capital; labor; real GDP

Question 11

New growth theory states that increases in ________ capital will result in ________ at the ________ level.

	A	knowledge; increasing returns to scale; firm
	B	physical; decreasing returns to scale; firm
	C	knowledge; decreasing returns to scale; economy
D		knowledge; increasing returns to scale; economy

Question 12

Which of the following is not a reason why the Industrial Revolution occurred when and where it did?

A		The British government was committed to upholding private property rights.
B		The British government was able to eliminate arbitrary increases in taxes.
C		The British government was able to more easily seize wealth.
D		Institutional changes by the British government helped protect wealth.

Question 13

Growth in real GDP per capita for the world economy was greatest during

A		the seventeenth century.
B		the eighteenth century.
C		the nineteenth century.
D		the twentieth century.

Question 14

Which of the following is a normative statement about economic growth?

A		Economic growth is associated with higher labor productivity growth.
B		Economic growth increases GDP per capita.
C		Economic growth hurts developing countries.
D		Foreign direct investment stimulates economic growth.

Question 15

The effect of a recession on a company like Whirlpool Corporation is such that

A		sales decline more sharply for Whirlpool as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.
B		profits fall less sharply as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.
C		the decline in sales is more short-lived as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.
D		there is no difference in the impact of the recession on its profits as compared to firms that do not produce durable goods.

Question 16

For the recessions in the United States since the 1950s,

A		cyclical unemployment has been non-existent.
B		unemployment rises on average by about 1.2 percentage points 12 months after a recession begins.
C		unemployment falls on average by 2 percentage points 12 months after a recession begins.
D		unemployment rises on average about 5 percentage points 12 months after a recession begins.

Question 17

You are an economic advisor to the president. You are asked to recommend a policy to promote long-term economic growth in the economy. Which of the following policies would you choose?

A		a reduction in sales taxes
B		an investment tax credit
C		a reduction in taxes on luxury yachts
D		All of these

Question 18

In comparison to a government that runs a balanced budget, when the government runs a budget deficit,

	A	the equilibrium interest rate will fall.
	B	business investment will fall.
	C	household savings will fall.
	D	None of these

Question 19

If labor productivity growth slows down in a country, this means that the growth rate in ________ has declined.

A		labor force participation
B		the quantity of goods or services that can be produced by one hour of work
C		the working-age population
D		nominal GDP

Question 20

Policies to promote growth by increasing saving and investment work through

A		decreasing the supply of loanable funds, lowering the interest rate, raising the level of investment in physical capital.
B		increasing the supply of loanable funds, increasing the interest rate, raising the level of investment in physical capital.
C		increasing the supply of loanable funds, lowering the interest rate, lowering the level of investment in physical capital.
D		increasing the supply of loanable funds, lowering the interest rate, raising the level of investment in physical capital.

ECON 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Diminishing Returns, Human Capital

ECON 203 Full Course Notes

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