The Role of Human Capital and Population Growth in R&D-Based Models of Economic Growth

Human capital accumulation is introduced in a growth model with R\&D-driven expansion in variety and quality of intermediate goods andknowledge spillovers from both research activities. Economic growth is no longer uniquely tied to population growth as previous growth models without scale effects suggest. The model predicts that economic growth depends positively on the rate of human capital accumulation and positively or negatively on population growth and is therefore supported by empirical evidence to a greater extent than previous models. In particular, long-run growth is compatible with a stable population.