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Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth

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  • Nadir Altinok

    (IREDU - Institut de Recherche sur l'Education : Sociologie et Economie de l'Education [Dijon] - UB - Université de Bourgogne - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE], BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Abdurrahman Aydemir

    (Sabanci University [Istanbul])

Abstract

This paper tests for heterogeneous effects of cognitive skills on economic growth across countries. Using a new extended dataset on cognitive skills and controlling for potential endogeneity, we find that the magnitude of the effect is about 60 per cent higher for low-income countries compared to high-income countries, and it more than doubles when low TFP countries are compared to high TFP countries. There are also marked differences across ge- ographic regions. Using data on the share of the population with advanced and minimum skill levels, our results also indicate that high-income countries should focus on increasing the number of high skilled human capital, while countries from Sub-Saharan Africa would benefit more by investing in the development of basic skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadir Altinok & Abdurrahman Aydemir, 2017. "Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth," Post-Print halshs-01671740, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01671740
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2017.06.007
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    2. Dennis Ridley, 2021. "Capitalism/Democracy/Rule of Law Interactions and Implications for Entrepreneurship and Per Capita Real Gross Domestic Product Adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(1), pages 384-411, March.
    3. NAPO, Fousséni, 2018. "Capital humain, productivité manufacturière et croissance économique dans les pays de l’UEMOA [Human capital, manufacturing productivity and economic growth in WAEMU countries]," MPRA Paper 89450, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Oct 2018.
    4. Campbell, Susanna G. & Üngör, Murat, 2020. "Revisiting human capital and aggregate income differences," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 43-64.
    5. Arun Jaitley, 2018. "Economic Survey 2017: Volume I, Chapter 5: Is there a “Late Converger Stall†in Economic Development? Can India Escape it?," Working Papers id:12444, eSocialSciences.
    6. Aditya Singh & Jaison A. Manjaly, 2022. "Using Curiosity to Improve Learning Outcomes in Schools," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440211, January.
    7. Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2013. "Inflation Thresholds and Growth," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 1-10, March.
    8. David SHAPIRO, 2017. "Linkages between Education and Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Paper 9fdf2602-7726-42b4-b168-8, Agence française de développement.
    9. Tafesse, Wiktoria, 2022. "The effect of Universal Salt Iodization on cognitive test scores in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    10. Hüseyin Taştan & Selin Erdoğan, 2018. "Cognitive skills and economic performance: evidence from the recent international student assessment tests," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(3), pages 417-449, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Development; Africa; Cognitive skills; Growth; Heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • N37 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Africa; Oceania
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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