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Factor Substitution and Durability of Capital in a Two-Sector Putty-Clay Model
Hideyuki Adachi
Abstract
This paper investigates various properties of a two-sector putty-clay model in which physical durability of capital as well as its economic lifetime is a choice variable. Our model adopts Wicksell-Akerman's hypothesis that the production of capital goods of greater durability can be accomplished only by incurring greater costs per unit of capital produced. Thus it is a synthesis of Wicksell's durability and putty-clay models. The case in which all capital goods are infinitely durable and are scrapped solely by obsolescence (i.e., pure obsolescence case) will appear as a special case of our model.
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