This specification deserves second thoughts, because it explains the cross-country variation in output per person with the cross-country variation in the capital–output ratio, conditional on a constant level of technology. By contrast, the textbook Solow model would explain the cross-country variation in output per person with the cross-country variation in technology, conditional on a constant capital–output ratio. Of course, one could argue that this is a moot point to debate simply because the Solow model was not meant to be applied to a cross-country context, where the capital–output ratio may vary more substantially than in a time-series context. But if one does apply the Solow model to a cross-country context,like MRW and a large subsequent literature, then it appears to be more reasonable to use an alternative specification that first of all allows for variation in the measure of technology rather than in the capital–output ratio