IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/udc/wpaper/wp564.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Governance, Risks, and Returns to Human Capital

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Jacobi
  • Elizabeth M. King
  • Claudio Montenegro
  • Peter F. Orazem

Abstract

This study examines the role of good governance, ethnic diversity, and exposure to environmental risks on the returns to human capital. To estimate country-level returns to education and experience, the analysis uses labor force and household surveys spanning 33 years and from 145 countries at various stages of economic development. The findings indicate that better governance and greater ethnic diversity are associated with both higher returns to human capital and lower overall income inequality, with narrower wage gaps between men and women. Both urban and rural residents benefit similarly from stronger institutions. Quantile regressions also reveal that stronger socioeconomic institutions help lift incomes at the bottom of the distribution relative to the top, leading to lower overall inequality in well-governed and more diverse countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Jacobi & Elizabeth M. King & Claudio Montenegro & Peter F. Orazem, 2025. "Governance, Risks, and Returns to Human Capital," Working Papers wp564, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp564
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://econ.uchile.cl/uploads/publicacion/829c0eec67ffacbf5b0bc4c1298ca37ad2345d67.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ant Afonso & Miguel St. Aubyn, 2013. "Public and private inputs in aggregate production and growth: a cross-country efficiency approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(32), pages 4487-4502, November.
    2. José G. Montalvo & Marta Reynal-Querol, 2005. "Ethnic Polarization, Potential Conflict, and Civil Wars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 796-816, June.
    3. Aysit Tansel & Fatma Bircan Bodur, 2012. "Wage Inequality and Returns to Education in Turkey: A Quantile Regression Analysis," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 107-121, February.
    4. Cemal Eren Arbatlı & Quamrul H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2020. "Diversity and Conflict," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 727-797, March.
    5. Gründler, Klaus & Potrafke, Niklas, 2019. "Corruption and economic growth: New empirical evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "The Regulation of Entry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37.
    7. Aart Kraay, 2019. "The World Bank Human Capital Index: A Guide," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 34(1), pages 1-33.
    8. Ryo Horii & Tatsuro Iwaisako, 2007. "Economic Growth with Imperfect Protection of Intellectual Property Rights," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 45-85, January.
    9. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Enrico Moretti, 2019. "Housing Constraints and Spatial Misallocation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 1-39, April.
    10. Christopher A. Pissarides & Barbara Petrongolo, 2001. "Looking into the Black Box: A Survey of the Matching Function," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 390-431, June.
    11. Melanie Arntz & Terry Gregory & Ulrich Zierahn, 2016. "The Risk of Automation for Jobs in OECD Countries: A Comparative Analysis," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 189, OECD Publishing.
    12. Mohammad Mainul Hoque & Elizabeth M. King & Claudio E. Montenegro & Peter F. Orazem, 2019. "Revisiting the relationship between longevity and lifetime education: global evidence from 919 surveys," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 551-589, April.
    13. Fearon, James D. & Laitin, David D., 2003. "Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(1), pages 75-90, February.
    14. Danon, Alice & Das, Jishnu & de Barros, Andreas & Filmer, Deon, 2024. "Cognitive and socioemotional skills in low-income countries: Measurement and associations with schooling and earnings," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    15. Daron Acemoglu & Suresh Naidu & Pascual Restrepo & James A. Robinson, 2019. "Democracy Does Cause Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(1), pages 47-100.
    16. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    17. Thomas Lemieux, 2006. "Postsecondary Education and Increasing Wage Inequality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 195-199, May.
    18. Jan-Egbert Sturm & Jakob De Haan, 2015. "Income Inequality, Capitalism, and Ethno-linguistic Fractionalization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 593-597, May.
    19. Felipe González & Mounu Prem, 2020. "Losing your dictator: firms during political transition," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 227-257, June.
    20. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-1250.
    21. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2019. "Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 3-30, Spring.
    22. Saha, Shrabani & Sen, Kunal, 2021. "The corruption–growth relationship: does the political regime matter?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 243-266, April.
    23. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Filmer, Deon & Rogers, Halsey & Angrist, Noam & Sabarwal, Shwetlena, 2020. "Learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS): Defining a new macro measure of education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    25. Martins, Pedro S. & Pereira, Pedro T., 2004. "Does education reduce wage inequality? Quantile regression evidence from 16 countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 355-371, June.
    26. Alberto Alesina & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2011. "Segregation and the Quality of Government in a Cross Section of Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1872-1911, August.
    27. Daniel Cohen & Marcelo Soto, 2007. "Growth and human capital: good data, good results," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 51-76, March.
    28. Hideki Toya & Mark Skidmore & Raymond Robertson, 2010. "A Reevaluation of the Effect of Human Capital Accumulation on Economic Growth Using Natural Disasters as an Instrument," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 120-137.
    29. Sun Ling Wang & Paul W. Heisey & Wallace E. Huffman & Keith O. Fuglie, 2013. "Public R&D, Private R&D, and U.S. Agricultural Productivity Growth: Dynamic and Long-Run Relationships," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1287-1293.
    30. Acemoglu, Daron & Johnson, Simon & Robinson, James A., 2005. "Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 6, pages 385-472, Elsevier.
    31. Nicola Gennaioli & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2013. "Human Capital and Regional Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(1), pages 105-164.
    32. Antonio Ciccone & Elias Papaioannou, 2009. "Human Capital, the Structure of Production, and Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 66-82, February.
    33. John Dawson & John Seater, 2013. "Federal regulation and aggregate economic growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 137-177, June.
    34. Ranasinghe, Ashantha & Restuccia, Diego, 2018. "Financial frictions and the rule of law," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 248-271.
    35. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    36. Matthew Collin & David N. Weil, 2020. "The Effect of Increasing Human Capital Investment on Economic Growth and Poverty: A Simulation Exercise," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 43-83.
    37. T. Paul Schultz, 1993. "Investments in the Schooling and Health of Women and Men: Quantities and Returns," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 28(4), pages 694-734.
    38. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano, 2015. "Culture and Institutions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(4), pages 898-944, December.
    39. Colagrossi, Marco & Rossignoli, Domenico & Maggioni, Mario A., 2020. "Does democracy cause growth? A meta-analysis (of 2000 regressions)," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    40. Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1, June.
    41. Fleisher, Belton M. & Sabirianova, Klara & Wang, Xiaojun, 2005. "Returns to skills and the speed of reforms: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe, China, and Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 351-370, June.
    42. Joan Esteban & Laura Mayoral & Debraj Ray, 2012. "Ethnicity and Conflict: An Empirical Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1310-1342, June.
    43. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, June.
    44. Elizabeth M. King & Claudio E. Montenegro & Peter F. Orazem, 2012. "Economic Freedom, Human Rights, and the Returns to Human Capital: An Evaluation of the Schultz Hypothesis," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(1), pages 39-72.
    45. Gerdie Everaert & Freddy Heylen & Ruben Schoonackers, 2014. "Fiscal policy and TFP in the OECD : Measuring direct and indirect effects," Working Paper Research 274, National Bank of Belgium.
    46. Mulligan, Casey B & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 2000. "Measuring Aggregate Human Capital," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 215-252, September.
    47. Jeannie Annan & Christopher Blattman & Dyan Mazurana & Khristopher Carlson, 2011. "Civil War, Reintegration, and Gender in Northern Uganda," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 55(6), pages 877-908, December.
    48. José Mata & José A. F. Machado, 2005. "Counterfactual decomposition of changes in wage distributions using quantile regression," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 445-465.
    49. Chang-Tai Lee & Jin-Li Hu & Ming-Hsin Kung, 2022. "Economic Resilience in the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Across-Economy Comparison," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-25, April.
    50. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2010. "Development Accounting," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 207-223, January.
    51. Dinopoulos, Elias & Segerstrom, Paul, 2010. "Intellectual property rights, multinational firms and economic growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 13-27, May.
    52. Mark Skidmore & Hideki Toya, 2002. "Do Natural Disasters Promote Long-Run Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(4), pages 664-687, October.
    53. Buchinsky, Moshe, 1994. "Changes in the U.S. Wage Structure 1963-1987: Application of Quantile Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(2), pages 405-458, March.
    54. SchmitzJr, James A., 2001. "Government production of investment goods and aggregate labor productivity," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 163-187, February.
    55. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2005. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 43(3), pages 762-800, September.
    56. Gonseth, Camille & Cadot, Olivier & Mathys, Nicole A. & Thalmann, Philippe, 2015. "Energy-tax changes and competitiveness: The role of adaptive capacity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 127-135.
    57. David Cerulli & Michael Scott & Raivo Aunap & Ain Kull & Jaan Pärn & Jack Holbrook & Ülo Mander, 2020. "The Role of Education in Increasing Awareness and Reducing Impact of Natural Hazards," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-14, September.
    58. Xia, Fan & Xu, Jintao, 2020. "Green total factor productivity: A re-examination of quality of growth for provinces in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    59. Ludger Woessmann & Eric Bettinger, 2020. "New Directions in the Economics of Higher Education," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 18408.
    60. Robert J. Barro, 2003. "Determinants of Economic Growth in a Panel of Countries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 4(2), pages 231-274, November.
    61. Chang‐Tai Hsieh & Erik Hurst & Charles I. Jones & Peter J. Klenow, 2019. "The Allocation of Talent and U.S. Economic Growth," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(5), pages 1439-1474, September.
    62. Paul Collier, 2000. "Ethnicity, Politics and Economic Performance," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 225-245, November.
    63. Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 2, number 2, June.
    64. Gerdie Everaert & Freddy Heylen & Ruben Schoonackers, 2015. "Fiscal policy and TFP in the OECD: measuring direct and indirect effects," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 605-640, September.
    65. Zaneta Kubik & Mathilde Maurel, 2016. "Weather Shocks, Agricultural Production and Migration: Evidence from Tanzania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 665-680, May.
    66. José Garcia Montalvo & Marta Reynal-Querol, 2004. "Ethnic polarization, potential conflict and civil wars," Economics Working Papers 770, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Mar 2005.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Daniel Jacobi & Elizabeth M. King & Claudio Montenegro & Peter F. Orazem, 2025. "Governance, Risks, and Returns to Human Capital," LIS Working papers 898, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    2. Gershman, Boris & Rivera, Diego, 2018. "Subnational diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from a new dataset," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 231-263.
    3. Cemal Eren Arbatlı & Quamrul H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2020. "Diversity and Conflict," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 727-797, March.
    4. Usman Khalid & Mohammad Amin, 2023. "The impact of ethnic fractionalisation on labor productivity: Does firm size matter?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 2213-2249, October.
    5. Alberto Alesina & Johann Harnoss & Hillel Rapoport, 2016. "Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 101-138, June.
    6. Trung V. Vu, 2021. "Are genetic traits associated with riots? The political legacy of prehistorically determined genetic diversity," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(4), pages 567-595, November.
    7. Eva M. Buitrago & M. Ángeles Caraballo, 2022. "Measuring social diversity in economic literature: An overview for cross‐country studies," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 880-934, September.
    8. Gerring, John & Thacker, Strom C. & Lu, Yuan & Huang, Wei, 2015. "Does Diversity Impair Human Development? A Multi-Level Test of the Diversity Debit Hypothesis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 166-188.
    9. Francisco Queiró, 2022. "Entrepreneurial Human Capital and Firm Dynamics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(4), pages 2061-2100.
    10. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2020. "The Economics of Language," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 348-404, June.
    11. Joseph Flavian Gomes, 2020. "The health costs of ethnic distance: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 195-226, June.
    12. Alberto Alesina & Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2016. "Ethnic Inequality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(2), pages 428-488.
    13. Remi Jedwab & Noel D. Johnson & Mark Koyama, 2019. "Negative shocks and mass persecutions: evidence from the Black Death," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 345-395, December.
    14. Kyle L. Marquardt & Yoshiko M. Herrera, 2015. "Ethnicity as a Variable: An Assessment of Measures and Data Sets of Ethnicity and Related Identities," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(3), pages 689-716, September.
    15. Lim, Jamus Jerome & Adams-Kane, Jonathon, 2008. "Institutions, Education, and Economic Performance," MPRA Paper 11800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Zhang, Yu & Xu, Zhicheng Phil & Kibriya, Shahriar, 2021. "The long-term effects of the slave trade on political violence in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 776-800.
    17. Francisco Queiró, 2018. "Entrepreneurial Human Capital and Firm Dynamics," GEE Papers 00116, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Dec 2018.
    18. Bertinelli, Luisito & Cömertpay, Rana & Maystadt, Jean-François, 2025. "Ethnic diversity and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from refugee-hosting areas," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    19. Hodler, Roland & Valsecchi, Michele & Vesperoni, Alberto, 2021. "Ethnic geography: Measurement and evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    20. Bluhm, Richard & Thomsson, Kaj, 2020. "Holding on? Ethnic divisions, political institutions and the duration of economic declines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:udc:wpaper:wp564. 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: Mohit Karnani (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deuclcl.html .

    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.