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Does Education Matter for Economic Growth?

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • Delgado, Michael S.

    ()

    (Purdue University)

  • Henderson, Daniel J.

    ()

    (University of Alabama)

  • Parmeter, Christopher F.

    ()

    (University of Miami)

Abstract

Empirical growth regressions typically include mean years of schooling as a proxy for human capital. However, empirical research often finds that the sign and significance of schooling depends on the sample of observations or the specification of the model. We use a nonparametric local-linear regression estimator and a nonparametric variable relevance test to conduct a rigorous and systematic search for significance of mean years of schooling by examining five of the most comprehensive schooling databases. Contrary to a few recent papers that have identified significant nonlinearities between education and growth, our results suggest that mean years of schooling is not a statistically relevant variable in growth regressions. However, we do find evidence (within a cross-sectional framework), that educational achievement, measured by mean test scores, may provide a more reliable measure of human capital than mean years of schooling.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 7089.

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Length: 29 pages
Date of creation: Dec 2012
Publication status: published in: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2014, 76 (3), 334-359
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7089
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Keywords: significance testing; mean years of schooling; human capital; irrelevant variables; nonparametric;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
  • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
  • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
  • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
  • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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  1. Quelle "proxy" pour vérifier le lien entre éducation et croissance ?
    by jcbriquet in Ressources pour économistes on 2012-05-03 09:58:11
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  4. Bonin, Holger, 2017. "Report No. 75: The Potential Economic Benefits of Education of Migrants in the EU," IZA Research Reports 75, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
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  6. Madsen, Jakob B., 2016. "Health, Human Capital Formation And Knowledge Production: Two Centuries Of International Evidence," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(04), pages 909-953, June.
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