Some Properties of the Solution of the Ramsey Model

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to improve some results obtained by Smith. We provide here a closed-form solution for the Ramsey model. We prove that if the inverse of the constant elasticity of intertemporal substitution is different to the elasticity of output with respect to physical capital, then the economy described by this model reaches the unique steady-state equilibrium, for any starting values of per-capita consumption. The advantage of the paper over the existing paper is that the arguments here are not local, that is, our hypotheses are most generally possible. Consequently, we can obtain almost all other results as particular cases of our solution. Our approach clarifies why different starting values of per-capita consumption generates the same steady-state equilibrium, but of different periods of time. We also clarifiy some of previous result obtained by other authors as for example Luca Guerrini.