IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ecopln/v46y2013i3p321-339.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does higher level of education of the labor force cause growth? Evidence from Bulgaria

Author

Listed:
  • Mariya Neycheva

Abstract

This study tries to give new evidence on the relationship between human capital and output per capita in the former centrally-planned economies. Educational attainment of the labor force is used as a proxy for the human capital stock in Bulgaria. The empirical models are based on the extended Cobb–Douglas production function with labor, human capital as well as physical capital. In addition, the reduced form specifications include export and foreign direct investments. The econometric outcome suggests that an increase of the share of people with upper secondary education in the labor force is not related to the rate of long-run growth. Moreover, it is inversely related to the shortrun changes in real output. On the contrary, a positive impact is derived for tertiary education. In general, the study does not fully support the hypothesis that the higher average educational level of the population fosters growth. Export, physical capital and foreign direct investments turn out to be the driving forces of Bulgaria’s growth. A partial correlation analysis implies that the quality of human capital measured by foreign language proficiency could explain the insignificant effect of secondary education. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Mariya Neycheva, 2013. "Does higher level of education of the labor force cause growth? Evidence from Bulgaria," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 321-339, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:46:y:2013:i:3:p:321-339
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-013-9139-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10644-013-9139-6
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10644-013-9139-6?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. George Psacharopoulos, 1985. "Returns to Education: A Further International Update and Implications," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 20(4), pages 583-604.
    3. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2007. "The role of education quality for economic growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4122, The World Bank.
    4. Alan B. Krueger & Mikael Lindahl, 1998. "Education for Growth in Sweden and the World," Working Papers 790, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    5. 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.
    6. Balassa, Bela, 1978. "Exports and economic growth : Further evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 181-189, June.
    7. repec:pri:indrel:dsp01s7526c41b is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 2009. "The Economics of Growth," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262012634, December.
    9. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    10. T. W. Swan, 1956. "ECONOMIC GROWTH and CAPITAL ACCUMULATION," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 334-361, November.
    11. 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.
    12. Elliott, Graham & Rothenberg, Thomas J & Stock, James H, 1996. "Efficient Tests for an Autoregressive Unit Root," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(4), pages 813-836, July.
    13. Bennett T. McCallum, 1996. "Neoclassical vs. endogenous growth analysis: an overview," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Fall, pages 41-71.
    14. Jérôme Vandenbussche & Philippe Aghion & Costas Meghir, 2006. "Growth, distance to frontier and composition of human capital," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 97-127, June.
    15. Angel de la Fuente & Rafael Doménech, 2006. "Human Capital in Growth Regressions: How Much Difference Does Data Quality Make?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1-36, March.
    16. Rogers, Mark Llewellyn, 2008. "Directly unproductive schooling: How country characteristics affect the impact of schooling on growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 356-385, February.
    17. Engle, Robert & Granger, Clive, 2015. "Co-integration and error correction: Representation, estimation, and testing," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 39(3), pages 106-135.
    18. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    19. Peter J. Klenow & Mark Bils, 2000. "Does Schooling Cause Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1160-1183, December.
    20. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David Weil, 1990. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," Working Papers 1990-24, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    21. McMahon, Walter W., 1998. "Education and Growth in East Asia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 159-172, April.
    22. 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.
    23. Benhabib, Jess & Spiegel, Mark M., 1994. "The role of human capital in economic development evidence from aggregate cross-country data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 143-173, October.
    24. Perron, Pierre, 1989. "The Great Crash, the Oil Price Shock, and the Unit Root Hypothesis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(6), pages 1361-1401, November.
    25. Pereira, João & St. Aubyn, Miguel, 2009. "What level of education matters most for growth?: Evidence from Portugal," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 67-73, February.
    26. Hayashi, Naotsugu, 2005. "Structural changes and unit roots in Japan's macroeconomic time series: is real business cycle theory supported?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 239-259, April.
    27. Vasudeva Murthy, N. R. & Chien, I. S., 1997. "The empirics of economic growth for OECD countries: Some new findings," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 425-429, September.
    28. Kaloyan Ganev, 2005. "Measuring Total Factor Productivity: Growth Accounting for Bulgaria," GE, Growth, Math methods 0504004, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Apr 2005.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ichiro Iwasaki & Keiko Suganuma, 2015. "Foreign direct investment and regional economic development in Russia: an econometric assessment," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 209-255, November.
    2. Neycheva, Mariya, 2014. "The Role of Education for the Economic Growth of Bulgaria," MPRA Paper 55633, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Gregory Brock, 2020. "The real Oaxaca decomposition: convergence within Mexico’s Oaxaca region in the twenty-first century—Do types of crime and religious belief matter?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 543-569, November.
    4. Hazwan Haini, 2020. "Examining the relationship between finance, institutions and economic growth: evidence from the ASEAN economies," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 519-542, November.
    5. Yixiao Zhou, 2018. "Human capital, institutional quality and industrial upgrading: global insights from industrial data," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 1-27, February.
    6. Jingjing Liu & Jing Wang & Zehui Li & Yingkun Du, 2021. "Exploring impacts of the Grain for Green program on Chinese economic growth," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5215-5232, April.
    7. Mutiu A. Oyinlola & Abdulfatai A. Adedeji & Modupe O. Bolarinwa, 2020. "Exploring the nexus among natural resource rents, human capital and industrial development in the SSA region," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 87-111, February.
    8. Rafi Amir-ud-Din & Muhammad Usman & Faisal Abbas & Sajid Amin Javed, 2019. "Human versus physical capital: issues of accumulation, interaction and endogeneity," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 351-382, November.
    9. Veasna Kheng & Sizhong Sun & Sajid Anwar, 2017. "Foreign direct investment and human capital in developing countries: a panel data approach," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 341-365, November.

    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. Mariya Neycheva, 2010. "Does public expenditure on education matter for growth in Europe? A comparison between old EU member states and post-communist economies," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 141-164.
    2. 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.
    3. Karatheodoros Anastasios & Tsamadias Constantinos & Pegkas Panagiotis, 2019. "The effects of formal educations’ levels on regional economic growth in Greece over the period 1995–2012," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 39(1), pages 91-111, February.
    4. Mariya Neycheva, 2016. "Secondary versus higher education for growth: the case of three countries with different human capital’s structure and quality," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 2367-2393, November.
    5. Zhang, Chuanguo & Zhuang, Lihuan, 2011. "The composition of human capital and economic growth: Evidence from China using dynamic panel data analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 165-171, March.
    6. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2014. "Knowledge = Technology + Human Capital and the Lucas and Romer Production Functions," MPRA Paper 58847, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Angel de la Fuente & Antonio Ciccone, 2003. "Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 562.03, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    8. Adejumo, Oluwabunmi O. & Asongu, Simplice A. & Adejumo, Akintoye V., 2021. "Education enrolment rate vs employment rate: Implications for sustainable human capital development in Nigeria," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    9. Aribah Aslam, 2020. "The hotly debate of human capital and economic growth: why institutions may matter?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1351-1362, August.
    10. Jayasooriya, Sujith, 2020. "Revised Macro-Mincer Model for Human Capital Investment in Economic Growth," MPRA Paper 100747, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. 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.
    12. Lim, Jamus Jerome & Adams-Kane, Jonathon, 2008. "Institutions, Education, and Economic Performance," MPRA Paper 11800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Hassan, Gazi & Cooray, Arusha, 2015. "Effects of male and female education on economic growth: Some evidence from Asia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 97-109.
    14. Ekaterina Ponomareva & Alexandra Bozhechkova & Alexandr Knobel, 2012. "Factors of Economic Growth," Published Papers 172, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, revised 2013.
    15. 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.
    16. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2014. "Human Knowledge and a Commonsensical Measure of Human Capital: A Proposal," MPRA Paper 57670, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. ?gel de la Fuente, "undated". "Convergence Across Countries And Regions: Theory And Empirics," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 447.00, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    18. Zhang, Xiaobei & Wang, Xiaojun, 2021. "Measures of human capital and the mechanics of economic growth," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    19. Michael S. Delgado & Daniel J. Henderson & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2014. "Does Education Matter for Economic Growth?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 76(3), pages 334-359, June.
    20. Dakpogan, Arnaud & Smit, Eon, 2018. "The effect of electricity losses on GDP in Benin," MPRA Paper 89545, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    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:kap:ecopln:v:46:y:2013:i:3:p:321-339. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.