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The Knowledge Trap: Human Capital and Development Reconsidered

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Author Info
Benjamin F. Jones
Abstract

This paper presents a model where human capital differences - rather than technology differences - can explain several central phenomena in the world economy. The results follow from the educational choices of workers, who decide not just how long to train, but also how broadly. A "knowledge trap" occurs in economies where skilled workers favor broad but shallow knowledge. This simple idea can inform cross-country income differences, international trade patterns, poverty traps, and price and wage differences across countries in a manner broadly consistent with existing empirical evidence. The model also provides insights about the brain drain, migration, and the role for multinationals in development. More generally, this paper shows that standard human capital accounting methods can severely underestimate the role of education in development. It shows how endogenous educational decisions can replace exogenous technology differences in a range of economic reasoning.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 14138.

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Date of creation: Jun 2008
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14138

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
O11 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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