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Capital Obsolescence, Growth Accounting and Total Factor Productivity

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  • Patrick Musso

Abstract

The stability of capital lifespan over time is a key assumption of growth accounting studies. However, many empirical works refute this hypothesis and suggest that the average service-life of capital goods has shown a decrease in the advanced economies since the 1970s. I show in this paper that this acceleration in capital obsolescence could strongly impact on traditional measures of Total Factor Productivity. For instance, a moderate increase in the capital retirement rate since the early 1970s could explain almost all the productivity slowdown observed in the US economy in the period 1974-2000. JEL Classification: C80, E17, O47.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick Musso, 2006. "Capital Obsolescence, Growth Accounting and Total Factor Productivity," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 97(5), pages 217-233.
    • Handle: RePEc:cai:reofsp:reof_073_0217
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daan Steenkamp, 2018. "Factor Substitution and Productivity in New Zealand," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 94(304), pages 64-79, March.
    2. F. J. Escribá‐Pérez & M. J. Murgui‐García & J. R. Ruiz‐Tamarit, 2023. "Endogenous capital stock and depreciation in the United States," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(1), pages 139-167, February.
    3. Francisco-Javier Escribá-Pérez & María-José Murgui-García & José-Ramón Ruiz-Tamarit, 2022. "The devil is in the details: Capital stock estimation and aggregate productivity growth—An application to the Spanish economy," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 21(1), pages 31-50, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    capital obsolescence; total factor productivity; productivity slowdown; mismeasurement hypothesis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C80 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - General
    • E17 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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