Something Out of Nothing? Neoclassical Growth and the 'Trivial' Steady State

17 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2006

See all articles by Hendrik Hakenes

Hendrik Hakenes

University of Bonn - Economic Science Area

Andreas Irmen

University of Luxembourg - Ceter for Research in Economic Analysis (CREA); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research), Munich

Date Written: February 2006

Abstract

A common perception about the neoclassical growth model is that an economy devoid of capital cannot evolve to strictly positive levels of output if capital is essential. We challenge this view by positing a broad class of production functions, encompassing the neoclassical production function, that - surprisingly - show that a take-off is possible even though the initial capital stock is zero and capital is essential. Since the marginal product of capital is initially infinite, the trivial steady state becomes so unstable that the solution to the equation of motion involves the possibility of a take-off. When it happens, the take-off is spontaneous: there is no causality, not even randomness.

Keywords: capital accumulation, neoclassical growth model

JEL Classification: O11, O14, O41, N6

Suggested Citation

Hakenes, Hendrik and Irmen, Andreas, Something Out of Nothing? Neoclassical Growth and the 'Trivial' Steady State (February 2006). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 1671, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=892732 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.892732

Hendrik Hakenes

University of Bonn - Economic Science Area ( email )

Adenauerallee 24-42
D-53113 Bonn
Germany
+49-228-73-9225 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.finance.uni-bonn.de/hakenes

Andreas Irmen (Contact Author)

University of Luxembourg - Ceter for Research in Economic Analysis (CREA) ( email )

162a, avenue de la Faïencerie
Luxembourg, L – 1511
Luxembourg

HOME PAGE: http://wwwen.uni.lu/recherche/fdef/crea/people/andreas_irmen

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research), Munich

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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