Human Capital and Growth: Specification Matters

Uwe Sunde and Thomas Vischer ()

No 1131, Economics Working Paper Series from University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract: This paper suggests that the weak empirical effect of human capital on growth in existing cross-country studies is partly the result of an inappropriate specification that does not account for the different channels through which human capital aspects growth. A systematic replication of earlier results from the literature shows that both, initial levels and changes in human capital, have positive growth effects, while in isolation, each channel often appears insignificant. Studies that do not account for both channels might underestimate the effect of human capital due to convergence in human capital, in particular when measuring human capital in log average years of schooling. This study therefore complements alternative explanations for the weak growth effects of human capital based on outlier observations and measurement issues.

Keywords: Human Capital; Growth Regressions; Specification. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 O11 O15 O47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2011-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-fdg, nep-hrm and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/econwp/EWP-1131.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Human Capital and Growth: Specification Matters (2015)
Working Paper: Human Capital and Growth: Specification Matters (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:usg:econwp:2011:31

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