Does Education Matter for Economic Growth?

Michael S. Delgado (), Daniel Henderson () and Christopher Parmeter
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Michael S. Delgado: Purdue University

No 7089, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Empirical growth regressions typically include mean years of schooling as a proxy for human capital. However, empirical research often finds that the sign and significance of schooling depends on the sample of observations or the specification of the model. We use a nonparametric local-linear regression estimator and a nonparametric variable relevance test to conduct a rigorous and systematic search for significance of mean years of schooling by examining five of the most comprehensive schooling databases. Contrary to a few recent papers that have identified significant nonlinearities between education and growth, our results suggest that mean years of schooling is not a statistically relevant variable in growth regressions. However, we do find evidence (within a cross-sectional framework), that educational achievement, measured by mean test scores, may provide a more reliable measure of human capital than mean years of schooling.

Keywords: significance testing; mean years of schooling; human capital; irrelevant variables; nonparametric (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 I20 J24 O10 O40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2012-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-fdg and nep-hrm
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published - published in: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2014, 76 (3), 334-359

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Related works:
Journal Article: Does Education Matter for Economic Growth? (2014)
Working Paper: Does Education Matter for Economic Growth? (2011)
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