Capital-labor substitution and equilibrium indeterminacy

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control
Year: 2009
Volume: 33
Issue: 12
Pages: 1991-2000

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper examines the quantitative relationship between the elasticity of capital-labor substitution in production and the conditions needed for equilibrium indeterminacy (and belief-driven fluctuations) in a one-sector growth model. With variable capital utilization, the substitution elasticity has little quantitative impact on the minimum degree of increasing returns needed for indeterminacy. However, when capital utilization is constant, a below-unity substitution elasticity sharply raises the minimum degree of increasing returns because it imposes a higher effective adjustment cost on labor hours. Overall, our results show that empirically-plausible departures from the Cobb-Douglas production specification can make indeterminacy more difficult to achieve.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:dyncon:v:33:y:2009:i:12:p:1991-2000
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25