Technological Change, Human Capital Structure, and Multiple Growth Paths

Yong Jin Kim and Jong-Wha Lee
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Yong Jin Kim: Ajou University

No 149, ADB Economics Working Paper Series from Asian Development Bank

Abstract: This paper presents a theoretical model to analyze the effects of technology change on growth rates of income and human capital in the uncertain environments of technology. The uncertainty comes from two sources; the possibility of a technology advance and the characteristics of new technologies. We set up an overlapping generations model in which young agents invest in both width and depth of human capital in order to adopt new technologies. The model develops explicitly the micro-mechanism of the role of human capital in adopting new technologies as well as that of the process of human capital production in uncertain environments. In our model, a higher level for width of human capital relative to the level of depth leads one country to a higher growth path. We also show that an economy can have different growth paths depending on the initial structure of human capital and the uncertainty about the nature of new technologies. In particular, new technologies with more uncertain characteristics may adversely affect human capital accumulation and income growth, leading the economy to a low growth trap.

Keywords: education; endogenous growth; human capital; technology adoption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2009-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dge, nep-fdg and nep-hrm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Journal Article: TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, HUMAN CAPITAL STRUCTURE, AND MULTIPLE GROWTH PATHS (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:adbewp:0149

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