Incremental capital-output ratio

The Incremental Capital-Output Ratio (ICOR), is the ratio of investment to growth which is equal to 1 divided by the marginal product of capital. The higher the ICOR, the lower the productivity of capital. The ICOR can be thought of as a measure of the inefficiency with which capital is used. In most countries the ICOR is in the neighborhood of 3. It is a topic discussed in Economic growth.

\text{incremental capital output ratio} = \frac{\Delta K}{\Delta Y} = \frac{\frac{\Delta K}{Y}}{\frac{\Delta Y}{Y}}= \frac{\frac{I}{Y}}{\frac{\Delta Y}{Y}}

K: capital stock
Y: output (GDP)
I: net investment

According to this formula the incremental capital output ration can be computed by dividing the investment share in GDP by the rate of growth of GDP.

ICOR, world, and determining variables

Literature

Giancarlo Corsetti, Paolo Pesenti, and Nouriel Roubini: Fundamental Determinants of the Asian Crisis: The Role of Financial Fragility and External Imbalances, in Takatoshi Ito and Anne Krueger, eds. Regional and Global Capital Flows: Macroeconomic Causes and Consequences, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press for the NBER, 2001), 42-45

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