The paper considers how to measure capital in a model where technical progress is either embodied in new units of capital or it is "disembodied" and simply causes the price of capital services to fall. The disembodied case is considered in sections 2-4. Sections 2 and 3 set out standard vintage...

We construct a vintage capital model à la Whelan (2002) with both exogenous embodied and disembodied technical progress, and variable utilization of each vintage. The lifetime of capital goods is endogenous and it relies on the associated maintenance costs. We study the properties of the...

In this paper, we build up a general equilibrium model explicitly incorporating Schumpeterian growth à la Aghion and Howitt (1992) and a vintage capital structure in line with Solow (1960). In this set-up, we show that the investment rate is a fundamental determinant of the profitability of...

We highlight the salient characteristics and implications of the seminal contributions in the field of vintage capital growth theory (proposed entry for the new Palgrave dictionary of economics, 2nd edition).

We construct a vintage capital model `a la Whelan (2002) with both exogenous embodied and disembodied technical progress, and variable utilization of each vintage. The lifetime of capital goods is endogenous and it relies on the associated maintenance costs. We study the properties of the...

In this paper, an endogenous growth model is built up incorporating Schumpeterian growth and embodied technological progress. Under embodiment, long run growth is affected by the following effects: (i) obsolescence costs add to the user cost of capital, reducing the research effort; and (ii) the...

We construct a vintage capital à la Whelan (2002) with both exogenous embodied and disembodied technical progress, and variable utilization of each vintage. The lifetime of capital goods is endogenous and it relies on the associated operation costs. Within this model, we identify the rate of...

It is ascertained that the theorem of proportionality, which maintains that replacement investment is a constant proportion of the outstanding capital stock, has several fundamental shortcomings. It derives from a model founded on assumptions that are highly restrictive and unlikely to hold in...

This paper surveys and assesses the empirical literature that bears on the applicability of the theorem of proportionality, which asserts that depreciation is proportional to the outstanding capital stock. All available evidence shows that: a) the rates of depreciation and retirements vary from...

We study a model with a durable good subject to abrupt, periodic obsolescence, and characterize the optimal purchasing policy. Consumers optimally synchronize new purchases with the arrival of new durable models. Hence, some agents use a "flexible" optimal replacement rule that switches between...