Human and physical capital: Welfare and income effects of government spending

Insufficient physical and human capital are major impediments to development and poverty reduction in low-income countries. Given the financial constraint, should the governments emphasize physical capital or human capital investment and what instruments should they use? This paper addresses these questions using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with human capital and two-sectors: formal and informal. The model is estimated using data from India. Results demonstrate that investment subsidy is the most effective instrument in raising the GDP and aggregate welfare followed by government physical capital investment. However, both these policies mainly benefit the rich. The government investment in schooling and tuition subsidies targeted at poor are the most effective instruments for raising the employment income and welfare of poor. Using government physical capital investment in combination with either government schooling investment or tuition subsidy targeted at poor, the government can raise the GDP and income and welfare of both rich and poor.