Growth with exhaustible resource and endogenous extraction rate

A neoclassical model is built in the presence of exhaustible natural resources with two sectors: final products and semi-processed natural resources. The extraction rate is made endogenous by using a production function in the sector of exploration and by the catch-per-unit-effort hypothesis from Schaefer [Schaefer, M.B. 1954. Some aspects of the dynamics of populations important to the management of commercial marine fishes. Bulletin of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 1: pp. 25-56.]. Under such premises, conditions for a continuous positive and stable growth per capita are derived. In the resulting balanced growth path (BGP), the long-run rates are independent of the political parameters and the exhaustible resource production is constant. The political parameters affect growth only along the transition path, having no long term effect on growth rate. Thus, it is demonstrated that a continuous positive and stable per capita growth is possible.