Inflation and innovation with a cash-in-advance constraint on human capital accumulation

Abstract

This note explores a novel channel – a cash-in-advance (CIA) constraint on endogenous human capital investment – through which monetary policy impacts growth and welfare in a scale-invariant Schumpeterian growth model. We find the following. An increase in the nominal interest rate leads to a decrease in human capital investment, which in turn reduces long-run growth and welfare. Calibration shows that long-run growth increases 0.61% by reducing the nominal interest rate from 9.9% (the sample mean of the U.S.) to 0%. The corresponding welfare gain is equivalent to a permanent increase in consumption of 15.98%. The growth and welfare effects depend on the strength of the CIA constraint on human capital investment. Our study has strong policy implications for developing countries where out-of-pocket money may be important for schooling.