A Human Capital Theory of Economic Growth: New Evidence for an Old Idea

Theodore Breton ()

No 11834, Documentos de Trabajo de Valor Público from Universidad EAFIT

Abstract: In 1960 Theodore Schultz expounded a human capital theory of economic growth that includes three elements: 1) Countries without much human capital cannot manage physical capital effectively, 2) Economic growth can only proceed if physical capital and human capital rise together, and 3) Human capital is the factor most likely to limit growth. I specify Schultz’s theory mathematically and test it in periods when global financial capital was highly mobile. I find that in 1870, 1910, and 2000, the average schooling attainment of the adult population largely determined the stock of physical capital/capita and GDP/capita in 42 market economies.

Keywords: Human Capital; Schooling; Capital Investment; Economic Growth; Solow Model; Market Economies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E13 I21 O11 O15 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37
Date: 2014-01-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-fdg, nep-gro, nep-hpe, nep-hrm and nep-mac
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