All corrections
Wikipedia August 21, 2026 at 06:14 AM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solow%E2%80%93Swan_model

1 correction found

1
Claim
M P K = ∂ Y ∂ K = α A 1 − α ( H / L ) β ( K / L ) 1 − α {\\displaystyle MPK={\\frac {\\partial Y}{\\partial K}}={\\frac {\\alpha A^{1-\\alpha }(H/L)^{\\beta }}{(K/L)^{1-\\alpha }}}}
Correction

The displayed MPK formula is missing a β in the exponent on A. For the stated production function, the correct marginal product is proportional to A^(1−α−β), not A^(1−α).

Full reasoning

A few paragraphs earlier, the page defines the human-capital-augmented production function as

[
Y = K^{\alpha} H^{\beta} (AL)^{1-\alpha-\beta}.
]

Differentiating that function with respect to physical capital (K) gives

[
\frac{\partial Y}{\partial K} = \alpha K^{\alpha-1} H^{\beta} (AL)^{1-\alpha-\beta}.
]

Rewriting in per-worker terms,

[
\frac{\partial Y}{\partial K} = \alpha A^{1-\alpha-\beta} \frac{(H/L)^{\beta}}{(K/L)^{1-\alpha}}.
]

So the exponent on (A) should be (1-\alpha-\beta). The article’s displayed formula instead uses (1-\alpha), which is algebraically inconsistent with the production function stated on the same page.

Independent sources on the augmented Solow/MRW model give the corrected expression with (A^{1-\alpha-\beta}).

2 sources
Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0