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Give it time: Education affects economic growth in the long term

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  • Marconi, Gabriele

Abstract

Using a data set for a panel of 118 countries, this paper shows that changes in the level of education of national populations ages 45 to 64 are positively associated with economic growth. An increase of one percentage point in the share of individuals in this age group who attended secondary education is associated with a 1.1% increase in GDP per capita, although the effect is stronger for developing countries. In contrast, variation in the level of education in younger cohorts is not positively associated with economic growth. These results suggest that investment in education benefits society, but only in the long-term. Several possible explanations for this finding are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Marconi, Gabriele, 2015. "Give it time: Education affects economic growth in the long term," MPRA Paper 87601, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 14 Oct 2016.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:87601
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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