Growth and human capital: good data, good results

Abstract

We present a new data set for years of schooling across countries for the 1960–2000 period. The series are constructed from the OECD database on educational attainment and from surveys published by UNESCO. Two features that improve the quality of our data with respect to other series, particularly for series in first-differences, are the use of surveys based on uniform classification systems of education over time, and an intensified use of information by age groups. As a result of the improvement in quality, these new series can be used as a direct substitute for Barro and Lee’s (2001; Oxford Economic Papers, 3, 541–563) data in empirical research. In standard cross-country growth regressions we find that our series yield significant coefficients for schooling. In panel data estimates our series are also significant even when the regressions account for the accumulation of physical capital. Moreover, the estimated macro return is consistent with those reported in labour studies. These results differ from the typical findings of the earlier literature and are a consequence of the reduction in measurement error in the series. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007Human capital, Education, Economic growth, O10,

Solow or Lucas? Testing speed of convergence on a panel of OECD countries

“…Consistent with a few recent studies (e.g. Bassanini and Scarpetta, 2002b, De La Fuente and Domenech, 2006, Cohen and Soto, 2007, our results point to a positive and significant impact of human capital accumulation to output per capita growth. The estimated long-run effect on output of one additional year of education (about 6-9%) is also within the range of the estimates obtained in microeconomic analyses of the private returns to schooling.…”

The long-run impact of human capital on innovation and economic development in the regions of Europe

“…Thus, Sianesi and Van Reenen conclude in their literature survey in 2003 that 'as a whole we feel confident that there are important effects of education on growth' (Sianesi and Van Reenen 2003, 197). In addition, the more recent studies by, e.g., De La Fuente and Doménech (2006), Cohen and Soto (2007), Goldin and Katz (2008) and Ciccone and Papaioannou (2009) show the crucial impact of human capital on growth.…”

A Panel Data Analysis of the Brain Gain

“…Defoort (2008) Cohen and Soto (2007) or transposes the proportion observed in the neighboring country with the closest domestic enrollment rates in tertiary education.…”