,1 GDP Accounting
1.1 GDP
Let Qi,t denote the quantity of product i at year t and let Pi,t be the price of product i at year t.
Assume the chosen base year is t = 0. Then,
X
Real GDP at year t = Pi,0 ∗ Qi,t
i
X
Nominal GDP at year t = Pi,t ∗ Qi,t
i
1.2 Expenditure components of GDP
The four expenditure components of GDP are given by the following formula: Y = C + I + G + N X
Y = Output = Income = GDP
C = Consumption = C(Y − T )
I = Investment = I(r)
G = Government spending
N X = Net exports = N X(e)
Where we used the fact that output Y is a function of disposable income (Y − T ), investment I is
a function of the interest rate r and N X is a function of the exchange rate e.
We define:
Trade deficit = X − M = Exports − Imports
Capital inflow = −N X
Furthermore we have the following formulas where we assume a closed economy (N X = 0):
Private saving = Y − T − C
Public saving = T − G
Saving = S = (Y − T − C) + (T − G) = I
1.3 Price indexes
Both the Paasche price index and the Laspeyres price index reflect what is happening to the price
level in the economy. They are defined in the following way.
P
Nominal GDP at year t Pi,t ∗ Qi,t
Paasche price index = GDP Deflator = = Pi
Real GDP at year t i Pi,0 ∗ Qi,t
P
P i,t ∗ Qi,0
Laspeyres price index = CPI = P i
i P i,0 ∗ Q i,0
4
,2 Unemployment
2.1 Measuring joblessness
Each adult is placed into one of the following three categories:
1. Employed E
2. Unemployed U
3. Not in the labour force
We define
Labour force = Number of employed + Number of unemployed
Number of employed
Unemployment rate = ∗ 100%
Labour force
Labour force
Labour force participation rate = ∗ 100%
Adult population
2.2 The natural rate of unemployment
It is reasonable to assume that the labour force L is fixed. The unemployment rate is under this
assumption fully determined by the transition of individuals in the labour force. Let s denote the
rate of job separation and let f denote the rate of job finding. Then the number of people that lose
their job sE must be equal to the number of people that find a new job f U .
f U = sE
f U = s(L − U )
U 1
=
L 1 + f/s
Where we used the fact that E = L − U and did some basic algebra steps to derive the last formula.
5
,3 Economic growth
3.1 Production function
Output Y , or GDP, is a function of the amount of capital K and the amount of labour L.
That is, Y = F (K, L).
A production function has the property ’constant returns to scale’ if zY = F (zK, zL) for every real
number z.
The marginal product of labour M P L is the extra amount of output a firm gets given a unit change
in the amount of labour. That is, M P L is the partial derivative of F with respect to L:
∂F (K, L)
MPL =
∂L
Likewise, the marginal product of capital M P K is the change in the amount of output given a unit
change in the amount of capital:
∂F (K, L)
MPK =
∂K
The above gives us the following result: let P be the price of one single unit of output and let W
be the wage corresponding to one unit of labour. Then if we increase L by one unit:
∆Profit = ∆Revenues − ∆Cost
= MPL ∗ P − W
Intuitively, as long as ∆Profit > 0 we want to increase the amount of labour until ∆Profit = 0.
Therefore, every competitive firm will satisfy
∆Profit = ∆Revenues − ∆Cost
0 = MPL ∗ P − W
W
MPL =
P
We can do the same steps for the M P K. This will lead us to the following result:
R
MPK =
P
6
,3.2 Cobb-Douglas production function
Any production function of the form F (K, L) = A K α L1−α with A > 0 and 0 ≤ α ≤ 1 is called a
’Cobb-Douglas production function’.
Note that F has constant return to scale since
F (zK, zL) = A(zK)α (zL)1−α = AK α L1−α z α z 1−α = zA K α L1−α = zF (K, L)
Furthermore for every Cobb-Douglas production function it holds that
Y
M P L = (1 − α)AK α L−α = (1 − α)
L
Y
M P K = αAK α−1 L1−α = α
K
7
,4 Solow growth model
4.1 The production function
Recall that the production function is given by F (K, L). In the Solow growth model we assume
that F has constant return to scale: zF (K, L) = F (zK, zL). Furthermore, we want to analyse
all quantities in the economy relative to the size of the labour force. That means that we are not
interested in output Y itself, but in YL . We now rewrite Y = F (K, L) to know more about YL . We
use the fact that F has constant return to scale. Note that in this case z = L1 :
Y = F (K, L)
Y F (K, L)
=
L L
K L
= F( , )
L L
K
= F( , 1)
L
From now on, we denote every variable relative to the size of the labour force with just the small
letter of the variable:
Y K C
=y =k =c
L L L
We can now rewrite our production function. Note that we can simply forget about the variable ’1’
since it is a constant. We use f instead of F for convenience.
Y K
= F ( , 1)
L L
y = F (k, 1)
= f (k)
8
,4.2 Steady state level of capital
In the Solow growth model output per worker y is divided between consumption per worker c
and investment per worker i. We assume a closed economy (N X = 0) and we ignore government
spending G:
y =c+i
We assume that individuals save a fraction s of their income (s ∈ [0, 1]) and consume a fraction
(1 − s) of their income:
c = (1 − s)y = (1 − s)f (k) i = sy = sf (k)
The capital stock changes over time because of the impact investment i and depreciation δ have on
it. Let i be the investment per worker per year and let δ be the fraction of capital that depreciates
per year. Then
∆k = i − δk = sf (k) − δk
Investment and depreciation balance over time. That is, sf (k) = δk. This implies that ∆k = 0.
The level of k at which ∆k = 0 is called the steady state level of capital per worker and is denoted
by k ∗ . This process is illustrated in the figure below.
We now ask ourselves what happens to k ∗ if we change the saving rate s. Suppose we increase the
saving rate s, this results into an increase in sf (k). Therefore, the sf (k)-curve shifts upward. This
results into a new equilibrium sf (k) = δk at a higher steady state level of capital per worker k ∗ .
9
, 4.3 Golden rule level of capital
The steady state value of k that maximizes consumption is called the Golden Rule level of capital
∗
and is denoted by kgold . Recall that c = y − i = f (k) − sf (k). Since we only look for steady state
levels of capital per worker, we have that
∆k = 0 ⇔ sf (k) = δk
therefore the following holds for all steady state levels of capital per worker:
c∗ = y − i = f (k ∗ ) − sf (k ∗ ) = f (k ∗ ) − δk ∗
∗
Since we have to maximize consumption in order to find kgold we have to solve:
d
f (k ∗ ) − δk ∗ = 0
dk ∗
MPK − δ = 0
MPK = δ
Remember that in the [k, f (k)]-plane the slope of the graph of the f (k)-function equals the MPK.
∗
And the slope of the δk-line equals δ. We can find kgold by drawing the graph of f (k ∗ ) and the
∗
δk-line: the point at which the slope of the graph of f (k ) is equal to the slope of the δk-line is the
∗ ∗
Golden Rule level of capital kgold , since only then we have M P K = δ. We can then insert the kgold
into sf (k) = δk to find the saving rate s. This is also illustrated in the figure below.
√
Example: Let f (k) = k and let δ =
0.1. Find the saving rate s at the Golden
Rule level of capital.
Solution:
MPK = δ
∂f (k)
= 0.1
∂k
1
√ = 0.1
2 k
√
10 = 2 k
∗
kgold = 25
∗
We now insert kgold into sf (k) = δk
∗ ∗
sf (kgold ) = δkgold
√
s 25 = 0.1 ∗ 25
5s = 2.5
s = 0.5
∗ 1
The saving rate s at kgold is given by s = 2
10
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller tei2308. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £0.00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.