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Human Capital and Genetic Diversity

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  • Sequeira, Tiago
  • Santos, Marcelo
  • Ferreira-Lopes, Alexandra

Abstract

The determinants of human capital have been studied sparsely in the literature. Although there is a huge literature on the determinants of schooling linked with the quality of schooling, there are not many contributions that explore the deep determinants of investment in, quantity and quality of human capital. This paper investigates the relationship between human capital and the ancestral genetic diversity of populations. It highlights a strong hump-shaped relationship between genetic diversity and human capital. This means that some of the human capital achievements nowadays may root to the genetic diversity mostly determined many centuries ago. Results are robust to the introduction of several controls, to a consideration of a proxy for human capital in 1500 and to IV estimation.

Suggested Citation

  • Sequeira, Tiago & Santos, Marcelo & Ferreira-Lopes, Alexandra, 2013. "Human Capital and Genetic Diversity," MPRA Paper 49135, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:49135
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    Cited by:

    1. Simplice A. Asongu & Oasis Kodila†Tedika, 2017. "Is Poverty in the African DNA (Gene)?," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 85(4), pages 533-552, December.
    2. Oasis Kodila-Tedika & Simplice A. Asongu, 2016. "Genetic distance and cognitive human capital: a cross-national investigation," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 33-51, April.
    3. Phiri, Andrew, 2020. "Genetic diversity, disease prevalence and the coronavirus pandemic," MPRA Paper 101175, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human capital; genetic diversity; determinants of development; determinants of human capital.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O50 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - General
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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