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Diminishing returns to physical capital suggest that:
when the amount of human capital per worker and the state of technology are
fixed, successive increases in the amount of physical capital per worker lead to
smaller increases in productivity.
physical capital increases lead to drops in productivity when the amount of human
capital per worker and the state of technology are fixed.
increases in technological progress lead to decreases in productivity.
physical capital must be increased less than human capital and technological
progress for growth to occur.
Diminishing returns to physical capital suggests that:
at some point, increasing the amount of physical capital per worker is not worth the
cost of the additional amount of capital.
after some point, increasing the amounts of physical capital per worker will lead to
decreases in productivity.
increasing the amount of physical capital per worker is always worth the cost of the
capital.
there are increasing returns to technology and human capital.
Total factor productivity:
is the amount of output produced from a given amount of factor inputs.
is not an essential element in long-run growth.
is less important than technological progress.
cannot be used to explain how contributions of factors of production affect a
country’s growth.
Based on historical economic growth, economists have noted that the estimated
aggregate production function:
exhibits constant returns to physical capital.
shows that when holding the amount of human capital and the state of technology
fixed, successive increases in the amount of physical capital per worker lead to
smaller increases in productivity.
depends primarily on physical capital and technology advances.
shows the negative relationship between physical capital and productivity.
When a country utilizes more physical capital per worker over time, there will be:
lower and eventually zero growth rate of productivity.
higher growth rates of productivity.
no change in the growth rate of productivity.
lower but always positive growth rates of productivity.