Factors+that+Contribute+to+Economic+Growth

__ Factors That Contribute To Economic Growth __ Economic growth is a positive change in the level of production of goods and services; it is measured by an increase in an economy’s real GDP per capita. The following factors contribute to economic growth:

A country’s natural resources can increase from new discoveries or even by obtaining more land that may contain more natural resources. As you may recall from earlier in the course, natural resources can be renewable or non-renewable and they can be used to produce goods and services.
 * **__ Increases in natural resources __**

Real capital is capital goods that are used to produce other goods. Real capital can be increased by more investment spending which will contribute to economic growth in the future.
 * **__ Increases in real capital __**

Technology can be increased by new discoveries through research and development by companies and by the government.
 * **__ Increases in technology __**

This factor is the primary source of economic growth. There are three ways to achieve this factor: 1. Increase population: More people available to work. 2. Increase human capital: Increase in skills and knowledge per worker. 3. Increase labour productivity: Increase in productivity per worker.
 * **__ Quantity and quality of labour __**

__ Additional Information __ I have included the link below from Statistics Canada that will show you a very interesting article on “The contribution of literacy to economic growth and individuals’ earnings”. This article relates to the Quantity and Quality of Labour factor listed above and more specifically to the Increase in Human Capital sub-factor. According to this article from Statistics Canada, investments in human capital produce major economic growth; three times as much as investments in real capital! See the link below to learn more about investing in human capital and its effect on income levels as well. []