One reason is that there are important differences among nations other than their accumulation of capital. Poor nations have not only lower levels of capital accumulation (represented by K/L) but also inferior production capabilities (represented by the variable A). For example, compared to rich nations, poor nations may have less access to advanced technologies, lower levels of education (or human capital), or less efficient economic policies. Such differences could mean less output for given input of capital and labor; in the Cobb-Douglas production function, this is translated into a lower value of the parameter A. If so, than capital need not be more valuable in poor nations, even though capital is scarce.