We have described economic growth as a function of increased worker productivity

Question

We have described economic growth as a function of increased worker productivity, and have argued that worker productivity has risen due to increased levels of capital and technology. We have argued that the more capital a country has, the more it will be able to produce. This is true on a macro level, but also on a micro level –that is, our individual productivity also increases when we acquire machines that help us be productive. What machine(s) do you use in your daily life that help(s) you be more productive? Please be specific. Without this/these machine(s), what would you be unable to produce? Would you have to give up some leisure activities? Can you think of any machines that you could buy (thereby accumulating more capital), that would help you produce more? Would you be likely to experience diminishing returns? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

An easy everyday example is my laptop.

It connects me to the internet as well as is equipped with mathematical softwares that reduce my manual calculations and knowledge-gathering efforts, so I can do more work within a given time, than what I can manually do, increasing productivity.

Without this machine, I will not be unable to produce anything (because I can still visit libraries if I require additional knowledge, or do the calculations manually), but my productivity rate will become very slow. I have to work longer hours to get the same work done, which has to be taken out of my leisure time.

I can make further capital investments to equip my laptop with additional softwares and registrations to extra resource-based websites, which will further shorten my information-searching time required, and my productivity will be higher by even more.

In this case, I will not likely experience diminishing returns - the more I use the laptop, the more I gain speed in work (except a health hazard from using the laptop for longer time, which will slow me down or stop my work on a temporary basis only).

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