Grundmann, Miloslav: Claim Capital and Productive Absorption / A Balance-Sheet Theory of Growth Slowdown, Foreign Investment, and Saturated Economies

_Zenodo_. 2026This paper proposes a balance-sheet theory of growth slowdown based on the distinction between productive capital and claim capital. Productive capital is defined as capital that expands an economy's capacity to generate future output. Claim capital is defined as a legal, financial, institutional, or accounting claim on future output that does not itself expand productive capacity. The central argument is that economic growth depends not merely on the quantity of capital, but on th