Human Capital and Economic Growth: Is Africa Different?

Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong and Mark Wilson
Additional contact information
Mark Wilson: Departement des Sciences Economiques and CIRPEE, Universite du Queebec aa Montreal

Journal of African Development, 2005, vol. 7, issue 1, 73-109

Abstract: This paper investigates the difference in growth effects of human capital in African countries and the rest of the world. Using an expanded neoclassical growth model, panel data, a dynamic panel estimator and a broader definition of human capital including both health and education, we find that the effect of human capital on the growth rate of per capita GDP in Africa does not differ significantly from the growth impact of human capital in the rest of the world. Our results suggest that Africa does not grow any differently than the rest of the world. The observed growth differential between Africa and the rest of the world can be attributed to the fact that Africa has low endowments of growth-enhancing characteristics. Our results suggest that Africa should be treated like any other part of the world and that researchers and policy makers alike should forget about the "African difference," and formulate more efficient growth policies for Africa.

Date: 2005
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.afeawpapers.org/RePEc/afe/afe-journl/wp ... 07/JAD_vol7_Chp4.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:afe:journl:v:7:y:2005:i:1:p:73-109

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of African Development from African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christian Nsiah ().