A nonscale growth model with R&D and human capital accumulation

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the new growth theory with a model in which the engine of growth is human capital growth. Building on Romer's [1990] model, two new functions are introduced: (1) a specification for the production of new designs that assumes no externalities and no inventions before time zero; and (2) A specification for the accumulation of human capital technically similar to that in Lucas [1988]. As opposed to Romer's model, the scale-effects prediction is eliminated because technological growth does not depend on the number of researchers, but instead on the rate of growth of human capital. Moreover, the model introduced carries a new prediction: Growth depends positively on the ratio of final-good workers to researchers