ABSTRACT
The role of a theory of capital within the general body of economic doctrine has been a peculiar and inconstant one. The double connection of time with the capital stock, as both a measure of the size of that stock and an explanation of its being a resource, is to be found in the literature of the Austrian theory. The Austrian theory conceives the value of each embryonic parcel to grow, during its production history, not only by the input to it of successive factor days but also by the mere passage of time. The pure technological aspect of orientation is implicitly mapped by W. Leontief's input-output analysis as a means to answering quite different questions from those of the Austrian theory. To some degree, allowance could be made, by an investigator of the average period of production, for technological innovation already visibly heralded by invention.
