factor endowment
factor endowmentA country's stock of factors of production. The term endowment is rather misleading. So far as land is concerned, its area and location, and the minerals under it are given by nature; but the quality of the land can be improved by drainage or irrigation, and damaged by deforestation and erosion, and known mineral resources reflect effort put into investigating them. The labour force at any time is given by history, but in the long run can be affected by health and social measures which affect birth and death rates, and by policies towards immigration and emigration. The capital stock, again, is pre-determined at any moment by past investment, but its growth is affected by savings and by policy on international capital movements. Human capital can be affected by education and training.
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