Kapitalas

Kapitalas is a central concept in economics and finance. In broad terms, kapitalas denotes resources that are used to produce goods and services and to generate income. It is distinct from income or cash flow because it refers to the stock of assets available for productive use.

Economists differentiate several forms of kapitalas: financial capital (money, bank credit, investment funds); physical capital (machinery, buildings, infrastructure); human capital (the knowledge, skills, health of the workforce); and often intangible capital such as intellectual property and social capital.

Capital formation is the process of increasing the stock of kapitalas through saving and investment, while depreciation reduces the stock as assets wear out. Fixed capital refers to durable assets used in production (factories, machines), whereas circulating capital includes inputs that are quickly consumed (raw materials, inventory).

Capital markets channel savings into investment. Financial capital is mobilized through equity and debt instruments in primary markets and traded in secondary markets. Returns come as interest, dividends, or capital gains, and investment decisions depend on expected return and risk.

Policy and institutions influence kapitalas availability through interest rates, credit conditions, tax incentives, and property rights. In growth theory, accumulation of kapitalas, especially human and know-how capital, is a key driver of long-run output.

A note: in some economic theories, capital is treated as a factor of production rather than a physical object, and discussions about the nature of capital—real vs nominal, distributive aspects—are central to capital theory debates.