Scale effects, saving and factor shares in a human capital-based growth model with physical capital accumulation

Using a balanced-growth model with physical and human capital accumulation, this article analyzes quantitatively the long run effects of changes in the saving rate and in income distribution (i. e. , the shares of physical and human capital in income) on investment in human capital, growth of income, and the ratio of human to physical capital. In the long run the ratio of physical to human capital is constant, so that these two production factors can grow at the same rate. This rate is a function of the economy’s exogenous technological and preference parameters and depends positively on the share of skills invested in human capital formation. We also find that population growth is neither necessary nor conducive to economic growth and that the level of real income depends linearly on the level of human capital and is independent of population size.