IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v58y2018icp131-140.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Human capital contribution to economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does health status matter more than education?

Author

Listed:
  • Ogundari, Kolawole
  • Awokuse, Titus

Abstract

This paper revisits the debate on the possible impact of human capital on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and considers two alternative measures of human capital: health and education. The study employs a dynamic model based on the system generalized method of moments (SGMM) and analysed a balanced panel data covering 35 countries from 1980–2008. The empirical results show that the two measures of human capital have positive effects on economic growth, although the contribution of health is relatively larger than the impact of education. This finding emphasizes the importance of both measures of human capital and aligns with the argument in the literature that neither education nor health is a perfect substitute for the other as a measure of human capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Ogundari, Kolawole & Awokuse, Titus, 2018. "Human capital contribution to economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does health status matter more than education?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 131-140.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:58:y:2018:i:c:p:131-140
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2018.02.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592616302041
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2018.02.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Elsa V. Artadi & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 2003. "The Economic Tragedy of the XXth Century: Growth in Africa," NBER Working Papers 9865, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Ndem Ayara Ndiyo, 2007. "A dynamic analysis of education and economic growth in Nigeria," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 41(1), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Anke E. Hoeffler, 2002. "The augmented Solow model and the African growth debate," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 64(2), pages 135-158, May.
    5. Glewwe, Paul & Maïga, Eugénie & Zheng, Haochi, 2014. "The Contribution of Education to Economic Growth: A Review of the Evidence, with Special Attention and an Application to Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 379-393.
    6. Sala-i-Martin, Xavier X, 1996. "The Classical Approach to Convergence Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1019-1036, July.
    7. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    8. Titus O. Awokuse, 2003. "Is the export-led growth hypothesis valid for Canada?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 36(1), pages 126-136, February.
    9. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    10. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink, 2014. "Disease and Development Revisited," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(6), pages 1355-1366.
    11. Qadri, Faisal Sultan & Waheed, Abdul, 2014. "Human capital and economic growth: A macroeconomic model for Pakistan," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 66-76.
    12. Petrakis, P. E. & Stamatakis, D., 2002. "Growth and educational levels: a comparative analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 513-521, October.
    13. World Bank, 2015. "World Development Indicators 2015," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21634, December.
    14. Mayer, David, 2001. "The Long-Term Impact of Health on Economic Growth in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 1025-1033, June.
    15. Dulleck, Uwe & Foster, Neil, 2008. "Imported Equipment, Human Capital and Economic Growth in Developing Countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 233-250, September.
    16. David Roodman, 2009. "A Note on the Theme of Too Many Instruments," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(1), pages 135-158, February.
    17. Kolawole Ogundari & Awudu Abdulai, 2014. "Determinants of Household's Education and Healthcare Spending in Nigeria: Evidence from Survey Data," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(1), pages 1-14, March.
    18. King, Alan & Ramlogan-Dobson, Carlyn, 2015. "Is Africa Actually Developing?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 598-613.
    19. World Bank, 2012. "World Development Indicators 2012," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6014, December.
    20. Bloom, David E. & Canning, David & Sevilla, Jaypee, 2004. "The Effect of Health on Economic Growth: A Production Function Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-13, January.
    21. Benos, Nikos & Zotou, Stefania, 2014. "Education and Economic Growth: A Meta-Regression Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 669-689.
    22. Sharif Hossain & Rajarshi Mitra, 2013. "The Determinants of Economic Growth in Africa: A Dynamic Causality and Panel Cointegration Analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 217-226, September.
    23. William Hauk & Romain Wacziarg, 2009. "A Monte Carlo study of growth regressions," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 103-147, June.
    24. Glewwe, Paul & Kremer, Michael, 2006. "Schools, Teachers, and Education Outcomes in Developing Countries," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 16, pages 945-1017, Elsevier.
    25. Panagiotis Pegkas & Constantinos Tsamadias, 2014. "Does Higher Education Affect Economic Growth? The Case of Greece," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 425-444, September.
    26. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    27. Aviral Kumar Tiwari & Mihai Mutascu, 2011. "Economic Growth and FDI in Asia: A Panel-Data Approach," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 173-187, September.
    28. Hoeffler, Anke E, 2002. "The Augmented Solow Model and the African Growth Debate," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 64(2), pages 135-158, May.
    29. Vishal Jaunky, 2013. "Democracy and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: a panel data approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 987-1008, October.
    30. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    31. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson, 2007. "Disease and Development: The Effect of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(6), pages 925-985, December.
    32. David Mayer, 2001. "The long-term impact of health on economic growth in Mexico, 1950-1995," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(1), pages 123-126.
    33. Mr. Dhaneshwar Ghura & Mr. Anupam Basu & Mr. Anthony E Calamitsis, 1999. "Adjustment and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 1999/051, International Monetary Fund.
    34. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    35. Adams, Samuel & Opoku, Eric Evans Osei, 2015. "Foreign direct investment, regulations and growth in sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 48-56.
    36. Hartwig, Jochen, 2010. "Is health capital formation good for long-term economic growth? - Panel Granger-causality evidence for OECD countries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 314-325, March.
    37. Castellacci, Fulvio & Natera, Jose Miguel, 2011. "A new panel dataset for cross-country analyses of national systems, growth and development (CANA)," MPRA Paper 28376, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    38. Jerik Hanushek & Dennis Kimko, 2006. "Schooling, Labor-force Quality, and the Growth of Nations," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 154-193.
    39. Hanushek, Eric A., 2013. "Economic growth in developing countries: The role of human capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 204-212.
    40. Aka, Bédia F. & Dumont, J.C., 2008. "HEALTH, EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: TESTING FOR LONG-RUN RELATIONSHIPS AND CAUSAL LINKS in the United States," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 8(2), pages 101-110.
    41. Ansgar Belke & Andreas Wernet, 2015. "Poverty Reduction through Growth and Redistribution Policies—a Panel Analysis for 59 Developing Countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(1), pages 143-162, February.
    42. Self, Sharmistha & Grabowski, Richard, 2004. "Does education at all levels cause growth? India, a case study," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 47-55, February.
    43. Xavier Sala-I-Martin & Gernot Doppelhofer & Ronald I. Miller, 2004. "Determinants of Long-Term Growth: A Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 813-835, September.
    44. Kolawole Ogundari & Shoichi Ito & Victor O Okoruwa, 2016. "Estimating nutrition-income elasticities in sub-Saharan Africa: implications on health," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 59-69, January.
    45. Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong & Oliver Paddison & Workie Mitiku, 2006. "Higher education and economic growth in Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 509-529.
    46. Gyimah-Brempong, Kwabena & Wilson, Mark, 2004. "Health human capital and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African and OECD countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 296-320, May.
    47. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    48. Hector Sala & Pedro Trivín, 2014. "Openness, Investment and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 23(2), pages 257-289.
    49. Farhadi, Minoo & Islam, Md. Rabiul & Moslehi, Solmaz, 2015. "Economic Freedom and Productivity Growth in Resource-rich Economies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 109-126.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sultana, Tanzila & Dey, Sima Rani & Tareque, Mohammad, 2022. "Exploring the linkage between human capital and economic growth: A look at 141 developing and developed countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    2. Kehinde Oluseyi Olagunju & Adebayo Isaiah Ogunniyi & Kunle Francis Oguntegbe & Ibrahim Oluwole Raji & Kolawole Ogundari, 2019. "Welfare Impact of Globalization in Developing Countries: Examining the Mediating Role of Human Capital," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-24, August.
    3. Atif Awad, 2021. "Which Contributes More to Economic Growth in the MENA Region: Health or Education? An Empirical Investigation," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(3), pages 1119-1133, September.
    4. Bloom, David E. & Canning, David & Kotschy, Rainer & Prettner, Klaus & Schünemann, Johannes, 2018. "Health and Economic Growth: Reconciling the Micro and Macro Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 11940, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Ulaşan, Bülent, 2012. "Cross-country growth empirics and model uncertainty: An overview," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 6, pages 1-69.
    6. Oyinlola, Mutiu A. & Adedeji, Abdulfatai A. & Onitekun, Olumide, 2021. "Human capital, innovation, and inclusive growth in sub-Saharan African Region," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 609-625.
    7. Nadide Halıcı-Tülüce & İbrahim Doğan & Cüneyt Dumrul, 2016. "Is income relevant for health expenditure and economic growth nexus?," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 23-49, March.
    8. Bosede Ngozi Adeleye & Ismail Bengana & Abdelaziz Boukhelkhal & Mohammad Musa Shafiq & Hauwah K. K. Abdulkareem, 2022. "Does Human Capital Tilt the Population-Economic Growth Dynamics? Evidence from Middle East and North African Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 863-883, July.
    9. Glewwe, Paul & Maïga, Eugénie & Zheng, Haochi, 2014. "The Contribution of Education to Economic Growth: A Review of the Evidence, with Special Attention and an Application to Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 379-393.
    10. Boachie, Micheal Kofi, 2015. "Effect of health on economic growth in Ghana:An application of ARDL bounds test to cointegration," MPRA Paper 67201, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Łukasz Goczek & Ewa Witkowska & Bartosz Witkowski, 2021. "How Does Education Quality Affect Economic Growth?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Glawe, Linda & Wagner, Helmut, 2022. "Is schooling the same as learning? – The impact of the learning-adjusted years of schooling on growth in a dynamic panel data framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Zakir Husain & Mousumi Dutta & Nidhi Chowdhary, 2014. "Is Health Wealth? Results of a Panel Data Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 121-143, May.
    14. Ronald Kumar & Madhukar Singh, 2014. "Role of health expenditure and ICT in a small island economy: a study of Fiji," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 2295-2311, July.
    15. Lenkei, Balint & Mustafa, Ghulam & Vecchi, Michela, 2018. "Growth in emerging economies: Is there a role for education?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 240-253.
    16. Bahar Bayraktar-Sağlam, 2016. "The Stages of Human Capital and Economic Growth: Does the Direction of Causality Matter for the Rich and the Poor?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 243-302, May.
    17. E. Tsanana & X. Chapsa & C. Katrakilidis, 2016. "Is growth corrupted or bureaucratic? Panel evidence from the enlarged EU," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(33), pages 3131-3147, July.
    18. Voxi Heinrich Amavilah & Antonio Rodriguez Andres, 2022. "Knowledge Economy and the Economic Performance of African Countries: A Seemingly Unrelated and Recursive Approach," Working Papers 57, The German University in Cairo, Faculty of Management Technology.
    19. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2016. "Interrelationships between Social and human Capital, and Economic Growth," MPRA Paper 89646, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2017.
    20. Daniel Ştefan Armeanu & Georgeta Vintilă & Ştefan Cristian Gherghina, 2017. "Empirical Study towards the Drivers of Sustainable Economic Growth in EU-28 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:58:y:2018:i:c:p:131-140. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.