Well, it depends on what he uses the sum of capital for. I was thinking along the lines of problems with estimating value over time. So if you sum it up at market value and translate into man-hours at going rate, it doesn't change a thing at a particular point in time but if you look at time series it could make a difference. But then again if he just assumes 5% without checking if that holds, then I might be trying to answer something else then what he is writing about.

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