Pandemics and Human Capital: Panel Data Evidence From 122 Countries

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of human capital stocks, measured by the Penn World Table data, in the panel dataset of 122 countries from 1996 to 2019. The special role is given to the World Pandemics Uncertainty index to measure pandemics uncertainty across countries. The paper finds that per capita gross domestic product and population increase human capital stocks. The decline in fertility rates leads to a higher level of human capital. The interesting evidence is that pandemics' uncertainty decreases human capital. These findings are valid when we focus on both the high-income and the middle/low-income economies. These results are against the Becker-Lewis theory's validity since sources of uncertainty are negatively related to human capital.

R&D expenditure as a determinant of the aggregate innovation index in the V4 countries

“…It can be assessed at both micro and macro levels from national and international perspectives. As the situation at the micro level tends to be highly dependent on the macro level (Sun et al, 2022), it is also influenced by geographical location. The empirical part of this paper focuses on assessing the relationship between the research investment and the complex innovation performance indicator in the V4 countries.…”