Editing Economic growth (section)

=== Factor accumulation ===
Capital in economics ordinarily refers to physical capital, which consists of structures (largest component of physical capital) and equipment used in business (machinery, factory equipment, computers and office equipment, construction equipment, business vehicles, medical equipment, etc.).{{sfn|Bjork|1999|p=251}} Up to a point increases in the amount of capital per worker are an important cause of economic output growth. Capital is subject to [[diminishing returns]] because of the amount that can be effectively invested and because of the growing burden of depreciation. In the development of economic theory, the distribution of income was considered to be between labor and the owners of land and capital.<ref>
{{cite book|title=History of Economic Thought: A Critical Perspective|last1=Hunt|first1=E. K.|last2=Lautzenheiser|first2=Mark|publisher=PHI Learning|year=2014|isbn=978-0765625991}}
</ref> In recent decades there have been several Asian countries with high rates of economic growth driven by capital investment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Krugman|first=Paul|year=1994|title=The Myth of Asia's Miracle|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/1994-11-01/myth-asias-miracle|journal=Foreign Affairs|volume=73|issue=6|pages=62–78|doi=10.2307/20046929|jstor=20046929}}</ref>

The work week declined considerably over the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web
 |title       = Hours of Work in U.S. History
 |year        = 2010
 |url         = http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/whaples.work.hours.us
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111026075949/http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/whaples.work.hours.us
 |archive-date = 2011-10-26
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Whaples
 | first1 = Robert
 | title = The Shortening of the American Work Week: An Economic and Historical Analysis of Its Context, Causes, and Consequences |journal=The Journal of Economic History |volume=51 |issue= 2 |pages=454–7
 | date = June 1991
 | doi=10.1017/s0022050700039073
| s2cid = 153813437
 }}</ref> By the 1920s the average work week in the U.S. was 49 hours, but the work week was reduced to 40 hours (after which overtime premium was applied) as part of the [[National Industrial Recovery Act]] of 1933.

Demographic factors may influence growth by changing the employment to population ratio and the labor force participation rate.{{sfn|Bjork|1999|p={{pn|date=July 2022}}}} [[Industrialization]] creates a [[demographic transition]] in which birth rates decline and the average age of the population increases.

Women with fewer children and better access to market employment tend to join the labor force in higher percentages. There is a reduced demand for child labor and children spend more years in school. The increase in the percentage of women in the labor force in the U.S. contributed to economic growth, as did the entrance of the [[baby boomer]]s into the workforce.{{sfn|Bjork|1999|p={{pn|date=July 2022}}}}