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A CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEORY OFECONOMIC GROWTH

By ROBERT M . SOLOW

I. Introduction, 65. — II. A model of long-run growth, 66. — III. Possiblegrowth patterns, 68. — IV. Examples, 73. — V. Behavior of interest and wagerates, 78. — VI. Extensions. 85. — VII. Qualifications, 91.

I. INTRODUCTION

All theory depends on assumptions which are not quite true.That is what makes it theory. The art of successful theorizing is tomake the inevitable simplifying assumptions in such a way that thefinal results are not very sensitive.* A "crucial" assumption is oneon which the conclusions do depend sensitively, and it is importantthat crucial assumptions be reasonably realistic. When the resultsof a theory seem to fiow specifically from a special crucial assumption,then if the assumption is dubious, the results are suspect.

1 wish to argue that something like this is true of the Harrod-Domar model of economic growth. The characteristic and powerfulconclusion of the Harrod-Domar line of thought is that even for thelong run the economic system is at best balanced on a knife-edge ofequilibrium growth. Were the magnitudes of the key parameters —the savings ratio, the capital-output ratio, the rate of increase of thelabor force — to slip ever so slightly from dead center, the conse-quence would be either growing unemployment or prolonged inflation.In Harrod's terms the critical question of balance boils down to acomparison between the natural rate of growth which depends, in theabsence of technological change, on the increase of the labor force, andthe warranted rate of growth which depends on the saving and invest-ing habits of households and firms.

But this fundamental opposition of warranted and natural ratesturns out in the end to &ovr from the crucial assumption that produc-tion takes place under conditions of fiaxd proportions. There is nopossibility of substituting labor for capital in production. If thisassumption is abandoned, the knife-edge notion of unstable balanceseems to go with it. Indeed it is hardly surprising that such a gross

1. Thus tnuqwrt coste were merely a negligible complication to RicardiantiBde theoiy, but a vital characteristic of reality to von ThUnen.

65

66 QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS

rigidity in one part of the system should entail lack of flexibility inanother.

A remarkable characteristic of the Harrod-Domar model is thatit consistently studies long-run problems with the usual short-runtools. One usually thinks of the long run as the domain of the neo-classical analysis, the land of the margin. Instead Harrod and Domartalk of the long run in termii of the multiplier, the accelerator, "the"capital coefficient. The bulk of this paper is devoted to a model oflong-run growth which accepts all the Harrod-Domar assumptionsexcept that of fixed proportions. Instead I suppose that the singlecomposite commodity is produced by labor and capital under thestandard neoclassical conditions. The adaptation of the system to anexQgenously given rate of increase of the labor force is worked out insome detail, to see if the Harrod instability appears. The price-wage-interest reactions play an important role in this neoclassical adjust-ment process, so they are analyzed too. Then some of the other rigidassumptions are relaxed slightly to see what qualitative changesresult: neutral technological change is allowed, and an interest-elasticsavings schedule. Finally the consequences of certain more "Keynes-ian" relations and rigidities are briefly considered.

II. A MODEL OF LONG-RUN GROWTH

There is only one commodity, output as a whole, whose rate ofproduction is designated Y{t). Thus we can speak unambiguouslyof the community's real income. Part of each instant's output isconsumed and the rest is saved and invested. The fraction of outputsaved is a constant 8, so that the rate of saving is sY{t). The com-munity's stock of capital K{t) takes the form of an accumulation ofthe composite commodity. Net investment is then just the rate ofincrease of this capital stock dK/dt or K, so we have the bade identityat every instant of time:(1) k = sY.

Output is produced with the help of two factors of production,capital and labor, whose rate of input is L(0. Technological posd-hilities are represented by a production function

(2) Y = F{K,L).

Output is to be understood as net output after making good the depre-dation of capital. About production all we will say at the moment is

THE THEORY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH 07

that it shows constant returns to scale. Hence the production func-tion is homogeneous of first degree. This amounts to assuming thatthere is no scarce nonaugmentable resource like land. Constantreturns to scale seems the natural assumption to make in a theory ofgrowth. The scarce-land case would lead to decreasing returns toscale in capital and labor and the model would become moreRicardian.'

Inserting (2) in (1) we get

(3) k = sF{K,L).

This is one equation in two unknowns. One way to close the systemwould be to add a demand-for-labor equation: marginal physicalproductivity of labor equals real wage rate; and a supply-of-laborequation. The latter could take the general form of making laborsupply a function of the real wage, or more clasmcally of putting thereal wage equal to a conventional subsistence level. In any case therewould be three equations in the three unknowns K, L, real wage.

Instead we proceed more in the spirit of the Harrod model. As aresult of exogenous population growth the labor force increases at aconstant relative rate n. In the absence of technological change n isHarrod's natural rate of growth. Thus:

(4) L(0 = Loe"*.

In (3) L stands for total employment; in (4) L stands for the avaUablesupply of labor. By ident^ying the two we are assuming that fullemployment is perpetually maintained. When we insert (4) in (3)to get(5) k

we have the basic equation which determines the time path of capitalaccumulation that must be followed if all available labor is to beemployed.

Alternatively (4) can be looked at as a supply curve of labor. Itsays that the exponentially growing labor force is offered for employ-ment completely inelastically. The labor supply curve is a vertical

2. See, for example, Haavelmo: A Stiudy m ihe Theory of Economw Evolution(Amsterdam, 1954), pp. 9^11. Not all "underdeveloped" countries are araas ofland shortsge. Ethiopia is a counterexample. One can imagine the theory asapplying as long as arable land can be hacked out of the wilderness at essentiallyconstant cost.


line which shifts to the right in time as the labor force grows accordingto (4). Then the real wage rate adjusts so that all available labor isemployed, and the marginal productivity equation determines thewage rate which will actually rule.'

In summary, (5) is a differential equation in the single variableK(t). Its solution gives the only time profile of the community'scapital stock which will fully employ the available labor. Once weknow the time path of capital stock and that of the labor force, we cancompute from the production function the corresponding time pathof real output. The marginal productivity equation determines thetime path of the real wage rate. There is also involved an assumptionof full employment of the available stock of capital. At any point oftime the pre-existing stock of capital (the result of previous accumula-tion) is inelastically supplied. Hence there is a similar marginalproductivity equation for capital which determines the real rentalper unit of time for the services of capital stock. The process can beviewed in this way: at any moment of time the available labor supplyis given by (4) and the available stock of capital is also a datum. Sincethe real retum to factors will adjust to bring about full employmentof labor and capital we can use the production function (2) to find thecurrent rate of output. Then the propensity to save tells us how muchof net output mil be saved and invested. Hence we know the netaccumulation of capital during the current period. Added to thealready accumulated stock this gives the capital available for thenext period, and the whole process can be repeated.

III. POSSIBLE GROWTH PATTERNS

To see if there is alwa3r8 a capital accumulation path consistentwith any rate of growth of tiie labor force, we must study the differen-tial equation (5) for the qualitative nature of its solutions. Naturallywithout specifying the exact shape of the production function wecan't hope to find the exact solution. But certain broad propertiesare surprisingly easy to isolate, even graphically.

To do so we introduce a new variable r = —, the ratio of capitalL

to labor. Hence we have K = rL = rL^. Differentiating withrespect to time we get

3. The complete set of three equations consists of (3), (4) and


Substitute this in (5):

(r + nr)Loe"' =

But because of constant returns to scale we can divide both variablesin F by L = Ltft" provided we multiply F by the same factor. Thus

(r + nr)Loe"' = sL^e^F ( - ^ , l )

and dividing out the common factor we arrive finally at

(6; r = sF{r,l) - nr.

Here we have a differential equation involving the capital-labor ratioalone.

This fundamental equation can be reached somewhat leas

formally. Since r = — , the relative rate of change of risthedifferenceL

between the relative rates of change of K and L. That is:

r'^ K L'

Now first of all = = n. Secondly £ = «f(£,L). Making these sub-L

stitutions:

Now divide L out of f as before, note that— = -, and we get (6) again.K T

The function F(r, 1) appearing in (6) is easy to interpret. It is thetotal product curve as vaiying amounts r of capital are employedwith one unit of labor. Alternatively it gives output per worker asa function of capital per worker. Thus (6) states that the rate ofchange of the capital-labor ratio is the difference of two terms, onerepresenting the increment of capital and one the increment of labor.

When r = 0, the capital-labor ratio is a constant, and the capitalstock must be expanding at the same rate as the labor force, namely n.


(The warranted rate of growth, warranted by the appropriate real rateof return to capital, equals the natural rate.) In Figure I, the raythrough the origin with slope n represents the function nr. The othercurve is the function sF{r,l). It is here drawn to pass through theorigin and convex upward: no output imless both inputs are positive,and diminishing marginal productivity of capital, as would be thecase, for example, with the Cobb-Douglas function. At the point ofintersection nr = sF{r,\) and r = 0. If the capital-labor ratio r*should ever be established, it will be maintained, and capital andlabor will grow thenceforward in proportion. By constant returns to

nr

sF(M)

I r*FIGURE I

wale, real output will also grow at the same relative rate n, and out-put per head of labor force will be constant.

But iSr 9^r*, how will the capital-labor ratio develop over time?To the rif^t of the intersection p<Hnt, when r>r*,nT> «F(r,l) andfrom (6) we see that r will decrease toward r*. Conversely if initiallyr < r*, the graph diows that nr < «F(r,l), f > 0, and r will increasetoward r*. Tbaa the equilibrium value r* is sUMe. Whatever theinitial value of the capital-labor ratio, the qnstem will develop towarda state of balanced growth at the natural rate. The time path ofcapital and output will not be exactiy exponential except aqrmptoti-cally.* If the initial capital stock is below the equilibrium ratio,

4. Theraisaasnsirtiamtothis. U £ - 0, r - 0 and the qrrtem oaa't gststarted; with no eaiiital tbere is no output and hence DO aocumulation. Batthia


capital and output will grow at a faster pace than the labor force untilthe equilibrium ratio is approached. If the initial ratio is above theequilibrium value, capital and output will grow more dowly than thelabor force. The growth of output is always intermediate betweenthose of labor and capital.

Of course the strong stability shown in Figure I is not inevitable.The steady adjustment of capital and output to a state of balancedgrowth comes about because of the way I have drawn the produc-tivity curve F(r,l). Many other configurations are a priori possible.For example in Figure II there are three intersection points. Inspee-

nr

FIOTJSE II

tion will show that n and r* are stable, n is not. Depending on theinitially observed capital-labor ratio, tiie system will develop eitherto balanced growth at capital-labor ratio n or ri. In either caselabor supply, capital stock and real output will asymptotically expandat rate n, but around n there is less capital than around n, hence thelevel of output per head will be lower in the former case than in thelatter. The relevant balanced growth equilibrium is at n for aninitial ratio anywhere between 0 and n, it is at r» for any initial ratiogreater than r%. The ratio vt is itself an equilibrium growth ratio, butan unstable one; any accidental disturbance will be magnified overtime. Figure II has been drawn so that production is possible withoutcapital; hence the origin is not an equilibrium "growth" configuration.

Figure II does not exhaust the possibilities. It is possible

equilibrium is unstable: the slightest windfall capital accumulation will start theBjrntem off towaiu r .


that no balanced growth equilibrium might exist.* Any nondecreasingfunction F(r,l) can be converted into a constant returns to scaleproduction function simply by multiplying it by L; the reader canconstruct a wide variety of such curves and examine the resultingsolutions to (6). In Figure III are shown two possibilities, together

FIGURE i n

with a ray nr. Both bave diminishing maiginal productivity tbroutfi-out, and one lies wholly above nr while the other lies yrbxHy below.*The first qystem is so productive and saves so mueh that perpetualfull employment will increase the capital-labor latio (and also tbeoutput per head) beyond all limits; capital and incoDoe botb increase

5. ThisseemstoecntradietathaoreminR. M.BolowandP.A.HamiMlaon;"Balanosd Growth under CcDaUat Batuma to Scale," Eeammietnca, XXI (1953),413-34, but the coDHadiotionia only apiiarant. It waa than sasumsd that eveiycommodity had podtivB naii^taal praduotivity in the pradustioii of each com:-modity. Here iTMiitnl esmiot be used to produce labor.

6. The equation of the fint mii^t be «iF^(r,l) - nr +VrT tbat of the second


more rapidly than the labor supply. The second system is so impro-ductive that the full employment path leads only to forever diminish-ing income per capita. Since net investment is always podtive andlabor supply is increasing, aggregate income can only rise.

The bade concludon of this analysis is that, when productiontakes place under the usual neodasdcal conditions of variable pro-portions and constant reftums to scale, no simple oppodtion betweennatural and warranted rates of growth is posdble. There may notbe — in fact in the case of the Cobb-Douglas function there nevercan be — any knife-edge. The system can adjust to any given rateof growth of the labor force, and eventually approach a state ofsteady proportional expandon.

IV. EXAMPLES

In this section I propose very briefly to work out three examples,three simple choices of the shape of the production function for whichit is posdble to solve the bade differential equation (6) explidtly.

Example 1: Fixed ProporHoru. This is tiie Harrod-Domar case.It takes a units of capital to produce a unit of output; and 6 unitsof labor. Thus a is an acceleration coeffident. Of course, a unit ofoutput can be produced with more capital and/or labor thui this(the isoquants are right-angled comers); the first bottieneck to bereached limits the rate of output. This can be expressed in the form(2) by saying

Y = F(K,L)= mini-,^)\a b/

where "min ( . . . )" means the smaller of the numbers in parentheses.The bade differential equation (6) becomes

r = «minl—IT-i ~ "*"•\ o b/

Eividently for very small r we must have - < - , so that in this rangea b

r =r ^ - nr = (—- n)r. But when - ^ - , i .e . , r ^ i , theequa-a \a / a b b

tion becomes f = T— nr. It is eader to see how this works graphi-0

cally. In Figure IV the function s min l~> rJis represented by a


broken line: the ray from the origin with slope - until r reaches thea

value - , and then a horizontal line at height —. In the Harrod modelb 0

- is the warranted rate of growth.a

rn,r

There aro now three possibilities:

(a) ni > - , the natural rate exceeds the warranted rate. It can

be seen from Figure IV that nir is always greater than « min I —'— j '\a 0/

80 that r always decreases. Suppose the initial value of the

capital-labor ratio is ro > —, then r = — — nir, whose sdutioa is0 0

""•* + - ^ . Thus r decreases toward —r which is


in turn less than - . At an easily calculable point of time ti, r reaches0

r =( mjr,\a /

- . From then onr = ( m j r , whose solutionisr= -et~"i^^'~'J-0 \a / 0

Since — < th, r will decrease toward zero. At time h, when r = —a 0

the labor supply and capital stock are in balance. From then onas the capital-labor ratio decreases labor becomes redundant, and theextent of the redundancy grows. The amount of unemployment canbe calculated from the fact that K = rL,^ remembering that, when

K. K.capital is the bottleneck factor, output is —and employmenl is b — •

a a

(b) rti = —, the warranted and natural rates are equal. If initiallya

a ar > 7S0 that labor is the bottleneck, then r decreases to—and stays

0 0

there. If initially r <—, then r remains constant over time, in a sort0

of neutral equilibrium. Capital stock and labor supply grow at acommon rate nj; whatever percejUage redundancy of labor there wasinitially is preserved.

(c) ni < —, the warranted rate exceeds the natural rate. For^a

mally the solution is exactly as in case (a) with ni replacing ni.

There is a stable equilibrium capital output ratio at r = —r . Butnib

here capital is redundant as can be seen from the fact that theginal productivity of capital has fallen to zero. The proportion of

the capital stock actually employed in equilibrium growth is — •

But since the capital stock is growing (at a rate asymptotically equalto ni) the absolute amount of excess capacity is growing, too. Thisappearance of redundancy independent of any price-wage move-ments is a consequence of fixed proportions, and lends the Harrod-Domar model its characteristic of rigid balance.

At the very least one can imagine a production function such


that if r exceeds a critical value rmui the marginal product of capitalfalls to zero, and if r falls short of another critical value r mim themarginal product of labor falls to zero. For intermediate capital-laborratios the isoquants are as usual. Figure IV would begin with a linearportion for 0 ^ r ^ rmui, then have a phase like Figure I forr min ^ r ^ Toiu, then end with a horizontal stretch for r > r^a-There would be a whole zime of labor-supply growth rates whichwould lead to an equilibrium like that of Figure I. For values ofn below this zone the end result would be redundancy of capital, forvalues of n above this zone, redundancy of labor. To the extent thatin the long run factor proportions are widely variable the intermediatezone of growth rates will be wide.

Exam-jpiU S: The Cobb-DovgUw Function. The properties of thefunction Y = K'L^'" are too well known to need comment here.Figure I describes the situation regardless of the choice of the param-eters a and n. The marginal productivity of capital rises indefinitelyas the capital-labor ratio decreases, so that the curve sFir,l) mustrise above the ray nr. But since a < 1, the curve must eventuallycross the ray from above and subsequently remain below. Thus theasymptotic behavior of the system is always balanced growth at thenatural rate.

The differential equation (6) is in this case r = sr'^ — nr. It isactually easier to go back to the untransformed equation (5), whichnow reads(7) k '

This can be integrated directly and the solution is:

where b = 1 — a, and K^ is the initial capital stock. It is easily

seen that as t becomes lai ge, K(t) grows essentially like (—) Lo e",

namely at the same rate of growth as the labor force. The equilib-

Vrium value of the capital-labor ratio is r* = ( - j . This can be\n/

verified by putting r = 0 in (6). Reascmably enough this equilibriumratio is laiger the higher the savings ratio and the lower the rate ofincrease of the labor supply.

It is easy enough to work out the time path of real output fromthe production function itself. Obviously asymptotically Y must

THE THEORY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH Tl

behave like K and L, that is, grow at relative rate n. Real incomeper head of labor force, Y/L, tends to the value (s/n)'^. Indeed withthe Cobb-Douglas function it is always true that Y/L = {K/L)' = f.It follows at once that the equilibrium value of K/F is s/n. ButK/Y is the "capital coeffident" in Harrod's terms, say C. Then inthe long-run equilibrium growth we will have C = s/n orn = s/C:the natural rate equals "the" warranted rate, not as an odd pieceof luck but as a consequence of demand-supply adjustments.

Example S. A whole family of constant-retums-to-scale produc-tion functions is given by K = {aK' + L")' '. It differs from theCobb-Douglas family in that production is posdble with only onefactor. But it shares the property that if p < 1, the marginal pro-ductivity of capital becomes infinitdy great as the capital-labor ratiodeclines toward zero. If p > 1, the isoquants have the "wrong"convexity; when p = 1, the isoquants are straight lines, perfectsubstitutability; I will restrict myself to the case of 0 < p < 1which gives the usual diminishing marginal returns. Otherwise it ishardly sendble to insist on full employment of both factors.

In particular condder p = 1/2 so that the production functionbecomes

-I- VZ)» = o«X -I- L -I-

The bade differential equation is

(8) r = «(aVr-|- 1)* - nr.

This can be written:

f = «[(a* - n/8)r + 2a^7 + l] = s{A-^7where A = a — Vn/a and B = a-\- "^n/s. The solution has to begiven implidtly:

Once again it is eader to refer to a diagram. There are two posd-bilities, illustrated in Figure V. The curve sF{r,\) begins at a hcdght«when r = 0. If aa' > n, there is no balanced growth equilibrium:the capital-labor ratio increases indefinitdy and so does real outputper head. The system is hig^y productive and saves-invests enoughat full employment to expand very raindly. If ae? < n, there is astable balanced growth equilibrium, which is reached according to


the solution (9). The equilibrium capital-labor ratio can be foundby putting f = 0 in (8); it is r* = (1/Vn/s - o)'. It can be furthercalculated that the income per head prevailing in the limiting stateof growth is 1/(1 — a^s/ny. That is, real income per head of laborforce will rise to this value if it starts below, or vice versa.

S|

FIGUKB V

V. BBHAVIOB OF INTBBEST AND WAGE RATES

The growth paths discussed in the previous sections can be lookedat in two ways. From one point of view they have no causal gignifi-cance but simply indicate the course that capital accumulation andreal output would have to take if neither unemployment nor excessc^Muaty are to appear. From another pdnt of view, however, wecan aak what kind of market bdavior will cause the model economyto follow the path of equilibrium growth. In this direction it hasalready been assumed that both the growing labor force and the


existing capital stock are thrown on the market inelastically, withthe real wage and the real rental of capital adjusting instantaneouslyso as to clear the market. If saving and investment decisions aremade independentiy, however, some additional marginal-efficiency-of-capital conditions have to be satisfied. The purpose of thissection is to set out the price-wage-interest behavior appropriate tothe growth paths sketched earlier.

There are four prices involved in the system: (1) the selling priceof a unit of real output (and since real output serves also as rapitalthis is the transfer price of a unit of capital stock) p{t); (2) themoney wage rate i0(O; (3) the money rental per unit of time of aunit of capital stock qlt); (4) the rate of interest i{t). One of thesewe can eliminate immediately. In the real system we are workingwith there is nothing to determine the absolute price level. Hencewe can take p{t), the price of real output, as given. Sometimes itwill be convenient to imagine p as constant.

In a competitive economy the real wage and real rental aredetermined by the traditional marginal-productivity equations:

(10)

and

(11)

Note in passing that with constant returns to scale the TniLrgin«.l pro-ductivities depend only on the capital-labor ratio r, and not on anyscale quantities.'

7. In the polar case of pure competition, even if the individual firms haveUnihaped avenge cost curves we can imagine ••^K"g^ in aggregate output takingplace solely by the entiy and exit of identical optimal-aiM firms. Then aggregateoutput is produced at constant cost; and in faet, because of the laige number ofrelatively small firms eaeh producing at approximately constant cost for smallrariations, we can without substantial eiror define an aggrepite jnoduction func-tion which will show constant returns to scale. Thero will be minor deviationssince this aggregate production function is not strictly valid for variations inoutput smaller than the siie of an «>ptimal firm. But this lumpiness can for long-run analysis be treated as negligible.

One naturally thinks of adapting the model to the more general aanunptionof universal monopolistic competition. But the above device fails. If the indus-try consists of identical firms in identical largS'^roup tangent^ equilibria then,subject to the restriction that output changes occur raly via ehangss in the nuin-ber of firms, one ean perhaps define a constant-eost aggregate intHluction function.But now this construct is laigely inelevant, for even if we aro willing to overlook

dFdL~

dFdK~

wP

2..P


The real rental on capital q/p is an own-rate of interest — it isthe return on capital in units of capital stock. An owner of capitalcan by renting and reinvesting increase his holdings like compound

interest at the vcaiable instantaneous rate q/p, i.e., likee " . Underconditions of perfect arbitrage there is a well-known close relationshipbetween the money rate of interest and the commodity own-rate,namely

If the price level is in fact constant, the own-rate and the interest ratewill coincide. If the price level is falling, the own-rate must exceedthe interest rate to induce people to hold commodities. That theexact relation is as in (12) can be seen in several ways. For example,the owner of SI at time t has two options: he can lend the moneyfor a short space of time, say until t + h and earn approximatelyi{t)h in interest, or he can buy 1/p units of output, earn rentals of(s/p)h and then sell. In the first case he will own 1 + i{t)h at theend of the period; in the second case he will have {q{t)/p{t))k+ p(t + h)/pit). In equilibrium these two amounts must be equal

or

Dividing both sides by h and letting h tend to zero we get (12).Thus this condition equalises the attractiveness of holding wealthin the form of capital stock or loanable funds.

Another way of deriving (12) and gaining some insight into itsrde in our model is to note that p(f), the transfer price of a unitof capital, must equal the present value of its future stream of netite diwxmtimiity and tieat it as differentiaUe, the partial deiivativBi of nieh af nnetion wiD not he the maiiiiial produethitieB to whieh the individiul finnrespond. Eaeh fixm is on the faDing hranch of ita unit ooet eurve, wheieaa in theeompetitiTOaueeMhfinnwaaafltuallyprodueiiigatloaaqyeonataatooBta. The

I of intradneing monopdiatie eompetitian intotivenuxUi. Fbr enaqde, the vihie-of-nuucbial-pnidaet eqiutiaoa inwould have to go over into maiynal^avenueimxlnet rebtiona, lAioh in tamwoaUn«dntteaqiliaitpnHBseofdflmNHioiirvei. MudiAirthsreip«iiBBntartion ia needed han, with gTMtw realism the reward.


rentals. Thus with perfect foresight into future rentals and interestrates:

Differentiating with respect to time yields (12). Thus within thenarrow confines of our model (in particular, absence of risk, a fixedaverage propensity to save, and no monetary complications) tbemoney rate of interest and the retum to holders of capital will standin just the relation required to induce the community to hold tbe

K=r*L

FIGURE VI I-

capital stock in existence. The absence of risk and uncertainty showsitself particularly in the absence of asset preferences.

Given the absolute price level p(0, equations (10)-(12) deter-mine the other three price variables, whose behavior can thus becalculated once the particular growth path is known.

Before indicating how tbe calculations would go in the examplesof section IV, it is possible to get a general view diagrammatically,particularly when tbere is a stable balanced growth equilibrium.In Figure VI is drawn the ordinary isoquant map of the productionfunction F{KJj), and some possible kinds of growth paths. A givencapital-labor ratio r* is represented in Figure VI by a ray from tbeorigin, with dope r*. Suppose there is a stable asymptotic ratio r*;thenallgrowthpatbsissuingfromarbitraryinitialconditions approachthe ray in the limit. Two such paths are shown, issuing from initial


points Pi and Pi. Since back in Figure I the approach of r to r*was monotonic, the paths must look as shown in Figure VI. Wesee that if the initial capital-labor ratio is higher than the equilibriumvalue, the ratio falls and vice versa.

Figure VII corresponds to Figure II. There are three "equilib-rium" rays, but the inner one is unstable. The inner ray is thedividing line among initial conditions which lead to one of the stablerays and those which lead to the other. All paths, of course, leadupward and to the right, \iithout bending back; K and L always

K

FIGURE VII •-

increase. The.reader can draw a diagram corresponding to FigureIII, in which the growth paths pass to steeper and steeper or to flatterand flatter rays, signifying respectively r —> <x> or r-*0. Again Iremark that K and L and hence F are all increasing, but if r —»0,K/LwiU decline.

Now because of constant returns to scale we know that along aray from the origin, the dope of the isoquants is constant. Thisexpresses the fact that Tnarginal products depend only on the factorratio. But in competition the dope of the isoquant reflects the ratioof the factor prices. Thus to a stable r* as in Figure VI correspondsan equilibrium ratio to/gr. Moreover, if the isoquants have the n(»mal


convexity, it is apparent that as r rises to r*, the ratio w/q rises toits limiting value, and vice versa if r is falling.

In the unstable case, where r tends to infinity or zero it may bethat 10/9 tends to infinity or zero. If, on the other hand, the isoquantsreach the axes with slopes intermediate between the vertical and hori-zontal, the factor price ratio u>/q will tend to a finite limit.

It might also be useful to point out that the slope of the curveF(r,l) is the marginal productivity of capital at the correspondingvalue of r. Thus the course of the real rental q/p can be traced outin Figures I, II, and III. Remember that in ijiose diagrams F(r,l)has been reduced by the factor 8, hence so has the slope of the curve.F(r,l) itself represents Y/L, output per unit of labor, as a functionof the capital-labor ratio.

In general if a stable growth path exists, the fall in the real wageor real rental needed to get to it may not be catastrophic at all. Ifthere is an initial shortage of labor (compared with the equilibriumratio) the real wage will have to fall. The higher the rate of increaseof the labor force and the lower the propensity to save, the lowerthe equilibrium ratio and hence the more the real wage will have tofall. But the fall is not indefinite. I owe to John Chipman theremark that this result directly contradicts Harrod's position' thata perpetually falling rate of interest would be needed to maintainequilibrium.

Catastrophic changes in factor prices do occur in the Harrod-Domar case, but again as a consequence of the special assumption offixed proportions. I have elsewhere discussed price behavior in theHarrod model' but I there described price level and interest rate andomitted consideration of factor prices. Actually there is littie to say.The isoquants in the Harrod case are right-angled comers and thistells the whole story. Referring back to Figure IV, if the observedcapital-labor ratio is bigger than a/h, then capital is absolutelyredundant, its marginal product is zero, and the whole value of outputis imputed to labor. Thus 9 - 0, and bw = p, so w = p/h. If theobserved r is less than a/b labor is absolutely redundant and vo = 0,80 9 B p/a. If labor and capital should just be in balance, r — a/b,then obviously it is not possible to impute any specific fraction ofoutput to labor or capital separately. All we can be sure of is thatthe total value of a unit of output p will be imputed back to the

8. In his comments on an article by Pilvin, this Journal, Nov. 1953, p. 645.9. R. M. Solow, "A Note on Price Level and Interest Rate in a Growth

Modd," Reeieiocf Economic Studies. No. 54 (1953^54). pp. 74-78.


composite dose of a units of capital and b units of labor (both factorsare scarce). Hence w and q can bave any values subject only to thecondition aq + bw = p , aq/p + bw/p = 1. Thus in Figure IV any-where but at r = a/b either capital or labor must be redundant, andat a/b factor prices are indeterminate. And it is only in special cir-cumstances that r = a/b.

Next consider the Cobb-Douglas case: Y = K'L^~' and q/p

= a(K/L)*"' = ar'~\ Hence w/q = ^ ^ r. The exact time pathsa

of tbe real factor prices can be calculated without difficulty from thesolution to (7), but are of no special interest. We saw earlier, how-ever, that the limiting capital-labor ratio is («/n)'^^~'. Hence tbeequilibrium real wage rate is (1 — a){a/nY'^~^, and tbe equilibriumreal rental is an/8. These conclusions are qualitatively just what weshould expect. As always with the Cobb-Douglas function the shareof labor in real output is constant. _

Our third example provides one bit of variety. From Y = {a'^K

we can compute that dY/dL = aJ— -|- 1 = oVr -|- 1. In\ ll

the case where a balanced growth equilibrium exists (see end of/ 1 V

section IV) r* = I -f= I: tberefore the limiting real wage isWn/a — a/

w/p = - 7 = + 1 = r = • It was calculated earlier that•Vn/« - o 1 - ^/

( 1 \»7 = I. But the relative share

1 — oVa/n/

of labor is {v)/p){L/Y) = 1 - a-'fa/n. This is unlike the Cobb-Douglas case, where the relative shares are independent of a and n,depending only on the production function. Here we see tbat inequUibrivm growth the relative share of labor is the greater the greaterthe rate of increase of the labor force and the smaller tbe propensityto save. In fact as one would expect, the faster tbe labor forceincreases the lower is the real wage in the equilibrium state of bal-anced growth; but the lower real wage still leaves the larger laborforce a greater share of real income.


VI. EXTENSIONS

Neutral Teehnciogical Change. Perfectly arbitrary changes overtime in the production function can be contemplated in prindple, butare hardly likely to lead to systematic concludons. An espedallyeasy kind of technological change is that which dmply multiplies theproduction function by an increasing scale factor. Thus we alter (2)to read

(13) Y = A{t)F{K,L).

The isoquant map remains unchanged but the output number attachedto each isoquant is multiplied by A{t). The way in which tho (nowever-changing) equilibrium capital-labor ratio is affected can) e seenon a diagram like Figure I by "blowing up" the function sF{r,l).

The Cobb-Douglas case works out very dmply. Take A(t) = t^and then the bade differential equation becomes

whose solution is

where again b = 1 — a. In the long run the capital stock increasesat the relative rate n + g/b (compared with n in the case of no techno-logical change). The eventual rate of increase of real output isn + ag/b. This is not only faster than n but (if a > 1/2) may evenbe faster than n -\- g. The reason, of course, is that higher realoutput means more saving and investment, which compounds therate of growth still more. Indeed now the capital-labor ratio neverreaches an equilibrium value but grows forever. The ever-increadnginvestment capadty is, of course, not matched by any speeding upof the growth of the labor force. Hence K/L gets bigger, eventuallygrowing at the rate g/b. If the initial capital-labor ratio is veryhigh, it might fall initially, but eventually it tums around and itsaaiymptotic behavior is as described.

Since the capital-labor ratio eventually rises without limit, itfollows that the real wage must eventually rise and keep ridng.On the other hand, the spedal property of the Cobb-Dou{^ func-tion is that the relative diare of labor is constant at 1 — a. The


other essential structural facts follow from what has already beensaid: for example, since Y eventually grows at rate n -|- ag/b andK at rate n -\- g/b, the capital coefficient K/Y grows at raten -\- g/b — n — ag/b = g.

The Supply of Labor. In general one would want to make thesupply of labor a function of the real wage rate and time (since thelabor force is growing). We have made the special assumption thatL = Loe"*, i.e., that the labor-supply curve is completely inelasticwith respect to the real wage and shifts to the right with the sizeof the labor force. We could generalize this somewhat by assumingthat whatever the size of the labor force the proportion offereddepends on the real wage. Specifically

(14) L = tf)*Another way of describing this assumption is to note that it is ascale blow-up of a constant elasticity curve. In a detailed analysistluB particular labor supply pattern would have to be modified atvery high real wages, since given the size of the labor force there isan upper limit to the amount of labor that can be supplied, and(14) does not refiect this.

Our old differential equation (6) for the capital-labor ratio nowbecomes somewhat more complicated. Namely if we make the pricelevel constant, for simplicity:

(6a) r = sFir,l) - nr - h^.w

To (6a) we must append the marginal productivity condition (10)BF 10— = —. Since the marginal product of labor depends only on r,dL pwe can eliminate w.

But generality leads to complications, and instead I tum againto the tractable Cobb-Douglas function. For that case (10) becomes

and hencew f— = o— .w r


After a little manipulation (6a) can be written

which gives some insight into how an elastic labor supply changesthings. In the first place, an equilibrium state of balanced growthstill exists, when the right-hand side becomes zero, and it is stillstable, approached from any initial conditions. Moreover, the equi-librium capital-labor ratio is unchanged; since r becomes zero exactlywhere it (Ud before. This will not always happen, of course; it is aconsequence of the special supply-of-labor schedule (14). Since rbehaves in much the same way so will all those quantities whichdepend only on r, such as the real wage.

The reader who cares to work out the details can show that overthe long run capital stock and real output will grow at the samerate n as the labor force.

If we assume quite generally that L = G{t,w/p) then (6) willtake the form

(8b) f=sF(r,l)

If f = 0, then 10 = 0, and the equilibrium capital-labor ratio isdetermined by

Unless 1/G dO/dt should happen always to equal n, as in the casewith (14), the equilibrium capital-labor ratio toiU be affected by theintroduction of an elastic labor supply.

Vcaidble Scming Ratio. Up to now, whatever else has beenhappening in the model there has always been growth of both laborforce and capital stock. The growth of the labor force was exoge-nously given, while growth in the capital stock was inevitable becausethe savings ratio was taken as an absolute constant. As long as realincome was positive, positive net capital formation must result. Thisrules out the possibility of a Ricardo-Mill stationary state, and sug-gests the experiment of letting the rate of saving depend on the yieldof capital. If savings can fall to zero when income is positive, itbecomes possible for net investment to cease and for the capital stock.


at least, to become stationary. There will still be growth of the laborforce, however; it would take us too far afield to go wholly classicalwith a theory of population growth and a fixed supply of land.

The simplest way to let the interest rate or yield on capitalinfluence the volume of savings is to make the fraction of incomesaved depend on the real return to owners of capital. Thus totalsavings is s{g/p) Y. Under constant returns to scale and competition,the real rental will depend only on the capital-labor ratio, hence wecan easily convert the savings ratio into a function of r.

Everyone is familiar with the inconclusive discussions, bothabstract and econometrica], as to whether the rate of interest reallyhas any independent effect on the volume of saving, and if so, inwhat direction. For the purposes of this experiment, however, thenatural assumption to make is that the savings ratio depends posi-tively on the yield of capital (and hence inversely on the capital-laborratio).

For convenience let me skip the step of passing from q/p to rvia marginal productivity, and simply write savings as s{r)Y. Thenthe only modification in the theory is that the fundamental equation(6) becomes

(6c) f = s{r)F{r,l) - nr.

The graphical treatment is much the same as before, except that wemust allow for the variable factor s{r). It may be that for suffi-ciently large r, s{r) becomes zero. (This will be the case only if,first, there is a real rental so low that saving stops, and second, if theproduction function is such that a very high capital-labor ratio willdrive the real return down to that critical value. The latter condi-tion is not satisfied by all production functions.) If so, 8(r)f (r,l)will be zero for all sufficientiy large r. If ^"(0,1) = 0, i.e., if no pro-duction is possible without capital, then s{r)F{r,l) must come downto zero again at the origin, no matter how high the savings ratio is.But this is not inevitable either. Figure VIII gives a possible picture.As usual r*, the equilibrium capital-labor ratio, is found by puttingf = 0 in (6c). In Figure VIII the equilibrium is stable and eventuallycapital and output will grow at the same rate as the labor force.

In general if s(r) does vanish for large r, this eliminates the possi-bility of a runaway indefinite increase in the capital-labor ratio as inFigure III. The savings ratio need not go to zero to do this, but if itshould, we are guaranteed that the last intersection with nr is astable one.


If we compare any particular «(r) with a constant saving ratio,the two curves will cross at the value of r for wbich 8(r) equals theold constant ratio. To the right the new curve will lie below (sinceI am assuming that 8(r) is a decreasing function) and to the left itwill lie above the old curve. It is easily seen by example that theequilibrium r* may be either larger or smaller than it was before.A wide variety of shapes and pattems is possible, but the net effecttends to be stabilizing: when the capital-labor ratio is bigh, savingis cut down; when it is low, saving is stimulated. There is still nopossibility di a stationary state: should r get so high as to choke off

FIGURE VIII

saving and net capital formation, the continual growth of the laborforce must eventually reduce it.

Taxation. My colleague, E. C. Brown, points out to me thatall the above analysis can be extended to accommodate the effects ofa personal income tax. In the simplest case, suppose the statelevies aproportional income tax at the rate t. Ii the revenues are directedwholly into capital formation, the savings-investment identity (1)becomes

X = «(1 - t)Y + <F = («(1 - 0 +

That is, the effective savings ratio is inereaatd from < to 8 H- <(1 —a).11 the proceeds of the tax are directiy consumed, the savings ratio isdeareated from « to 8(1 - t). If a fraction v of the tax proceedsis invested and the rest consumed, the savingB ratio changes to


s + (v — s)t which is larger or smaller than 8 according as thestate invests a larger or smaller fraction of its income than theprivate economy. The effects can be traced on diagrams such asFigure I: the curve sF{r,l) is uniformly blown up or contracted andthe equilibrium capital-labor ratio is correspondingly shifted. Non-proportional taxes can be incorporated with more difficulty, but wouldproduce more interesting twists in the diagrams. Naturally thepresence of an income tax will affect the price-wage relationshipsin the obvious way.

Variable Population Growth. Instead of treating the relative rateof population increase as a constant, we can more classically make it

sF(r,l)

n(r)r

FIGURE IX

an endogenous variable of the system. In particular if we supposethat L/L depends only on the level of per capita income or consump-tion, or for that matter on the real wage rate, the generalization iseapedally eaey to carry out. Since per capita income is given byY/L = F{r,l) the upshot is that the rate of growth of the laborforce becomes n = n{r), a function of the capital-labor ratio alone.The bade differential equation becomes

r = aF(r,l) - n ( r ) r .

Graphically the only difference is that the ray nr is twisted into acurve, whose shape depends on the exact nature of the dependence


between population growth and real income, and between real incomeand the capital-labor ratio.

Suppose, for example, that for very low levels of income perbead or the real wage population tends to decrease; for higher levelsof income it begins to increase; and that for still higher levels ofincome the rate of population growth levels off and starts to decline.The result may be something like Figure IX. The equilibriumcapital-labor ratio ri is stable, but rt is unstable. The accompanyinglevels of per capita income can be read off from the shape of F(r,l).If the initial capital-labor ratio is less than rt, the system will of itselftend to retum to n. If the initial ratio could somehow be boostedabove the critical level rt, a self-sustaining process of increasing percapita income would be set off (and population would still be grow-ing). The interesting thing about this case is that it shows how,in the total absence of indivisibilities or of increasing retums, a situa-tion may still arise in which small-scale capital accumulation onlyleads back to stagnation but a major burst of investment can liftthe system into a self-generating expansion of income and capitalper head. The reader can work out still other possibilities.

VII. QUALIFICATIONS

Everything above is the neoclassical side of the coin. Mostespecially it is full employment economics — in the dual aspect ofequilibrium condition and frictionless, competitive, causal system.All the difficulties and rigidities whidi go into modem Keynesianincome analysis have been shunted aside. It is not my contentionthat these problems don't exist, nor that they are of no significancein the long run. My purpose was to examine what might be calledthe tightrope view of economic growth and to see where more fiexibleassumptions about production would lead a simple model. Under^employment and excess capacity or their opposites can still be attrib-uted to any of the old causes of deficient or excess aggregate demand,but less readily to any deviation from a narrow "balance."

In this concluding section I want merely to mention some of themore elementary obstacles to full employment and indicate how theyimpinge on the neoclassical model.^

Rigid Wagea. This assumption about the supply of labor is justthe reverse of the one made earlier. The real wage is held at some

1. A much more complete and elegant analyns of these important problemsis to be found in a paper by James Tobin in the Journal ef Political Economy,LXII (1856), 103-15.

fL =

I _L ~

sF(fL,L),

— Fir 1)r


arbitrary level f — j . The level of employment must be such as to

keep the marginal product of labor at this level. Since the marginalproductivities depend only on the capital-labor ratio, it follows thatfixing the real wage fixes r at, say, f. Thus K/L = r. Now there isno point in udng r as our variable so we go back to (3) which in viewof the last sentence becomes

or

This says that employment will increase exponentially at the rate(a/r)F(r,l). If this rate falls short of n, the rate of growth of the laborforce, unemployment will devdop and increase. If a/fF(r,l) > n,labor shortage will be the outcome and presumably the real wagewill eventually become flexible upward. What this boils down tois that if (iii/p) corresponds to a capital-labor ratio that would nor-mally tend to decrease (f < 0), unemployment devdops, and viceversa. In the diagrams, s/fF{l,l) is just the dope of the ray fromthe origin to the aF(r,l) curve at r. If this dope is flatter than n,unemployment devdops; if steeper, labor shortage develops.

LigtttdUy Pr^erence. This is mudi too complicated a subject tobe treated carefully here. Moreover the paper by Tobin just men-tioned contains a new and penetrating analysis of the dynamics con-nected with asset preferences. I simply note here, however cmdely,the point of contact with the neodasdcal model.

Again taking the general price levd as constant (which is nowan unnatural thing to do), the transactions demand for money willdepend on real output Y and the choice between hdding cash andholding capital stock will depend on the real rental q/p. With agiven quantity of money this provides a relation between Y and q/por, essentially, between K and L, e.g..

(16) M = Q\Y, !Jj = Q(F(K,L),FK(K,L))

where now K represents capital in use. On the earlier assumptionof full employment of labor via flexible wages, we can put L =


and sdve (15) for K{t), or employed capital equipment. From K{t)and L we can compute Y{t) and hence total saving sY{t). But thisrepresents net investment (wealth not held as cash must be held ascapital). The given initial stock of capital and the flow of invest-ment determine the available capital stock which can be comparedwith K(t) to measure the excess supply or demand for the servicesof capital.

In the famous "trap" case where the demand for idle balancesbecomes infinitely elastic at some positive rate of interest, we have arigid factor price which can be treated much as rigid wages weretreated above. The result will be underutilization of capital if theinterest rate becomes rigid somewhere above the level correspondingto the equilibrium capital-labor ratio.

But it is exactiy here that the futility of trying to describe thissituation in terms of a "real" neoclassical model becomes glaringlyevident. Because now one can no longer bypass the direct leverageof monetary factors on real consumption and investment. When theissue is the allocation of asset-holdings between cash and capital stock,the price of the composite commodity becomes an important variableand there is no dodging the need for a monetary dynamics.

Policy ImpUcations. This is hardly the place to discuss thebearing of the previous highly abstract analysis on the practicalproblems of economic stabilization. I have been deliberately as neo-classical as you can get. Some part of this rubs off on the policy side.It may take deliberate action to maintain full employment. Butthe multiplicity of routes to full employment, via tax, expenditure,and monetary policies, leaves the nation some leeway to choosewhether it wants high employment with relatively heavy capitalformation, low consumption, rapid growth; or the reverse, or somemixture. I do not mean to suggest that this kind of policy (forexample: cheap money and a budget surplus) can be carried on with-out serious strains. But one of the advantages of this more flexiblemodel of growth is that it provides a theoretical counterpart tothese practical possibilities.'

Uncertmnty, etc. No credible theory of investment can be builton the assumption of perfect foresight and arbitrage over time.There are only too many reasons why net investment should be at

2. See the paper by FttuI A. Samudson in 7noomeaaUlHa(tm/or a Daiwlop-ing Demoeraey, ed. Millikan (New Haven, 1063), p. 577. Similar thoughts havebeen expressed by William Vickr^ in Ids essi^ in PoO-Keyneaian Economies,ed. Kurihan (New Brunswick, 1064).


times insendtive to current changes in the real return to capital, atother times oversendtive. All these cobwebs and some others havebeen brushed adde throughout this essay. In the context, this isperhaps justifiable.

RoBRRT M. SOLOW.

MAB8ACHU8BTr8 INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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