生产与增长培训课件.ppt

* This slide replicates Figure 1 from the text, which illustrates the relationship between productivity output per worker and one of its determinants: capital per worker. The curve is drawn for given values of the other determinants of productivity human capital per worker, natural resources per worker, technology . A change in any of these other determinants would shift the curve. The graph is positively sloped: productivity is higher when the average worker has more capital. The graph is curved, reflecting diminishing returns to capital: as the average worker gets more and more capital, productivity rises at a decreasing rate. Students may find it easier to understand the following statement especially if this is their first course in economics : If workers don’t have very much capital, giving them more will increase their productivity a lot. If workers already have a lot of capital, giving them more won’t increase their productivity very much. * Notice that K/L increases by the same amount in both countries. But thanks to diminishing returns, the increase in K/L has a bigger effect in the poor country than in the rich country. As a result, the poor country enjoys a higher growth rate than the rich country, and the gap between them shrinks over time. In the literature, this is known as “convergence.” In this principles-level book, it is called the “catch-up effect.” In order for the catch-up effect to work, it must be true that both countries have the same technology and hence production function. If the poor country has inferior technology, its production function will be lower; then, it won’t necessarily grow faster than the rich one, and the gap won’t necessarily shrink over time. * Brazil has implemented a policy which gives families cash payments if their children attend school faithfully. Other developing countries have similar policies, which experts predict will raise productivity and living standards in the long run. Th