How to use this calculator

This calculator solves the Solow–Swan steady state in closed form. Give it five numbers and it returns four: steady-state capital per effective worker $k^*$, output per effective worker $y^*$, consumption per effective worker $c^*$, and investment per effective worker $i^*$. All four quantities are expressed in the same per-effective-worker units, so they move together as you change the parameters.

The five inputs are: the savings rate $s$ (the fraction of output saved and invested each period — a value around $0.20$ is typical for rich economies); the capital share $\alpha$ (the elasticity of output with respect to capital in the Cobb-Douglas production function — empirical estimates cluster near $\tfrac{1}{3}$); the depreciation rate $\delta$ (the rate at which capital wears out — a value near $0.05$ per year is standard); the population growth rate $n$; and the technology growth rate $g$. The last three enter the model only through their sum $n + g + \delta$, which is the break-even investment rate — the fraction of capital that must be replaced each period just to keep capital per effective worker constant.