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

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  • Nadir Altinok
  • Abdurrahman Aydemir

Abstract

Our paper reassesses the question of the impact of cognitive skills on economic growth using new indicators for cognitive skills. These data extend measures of cognitive skills substantively. In particular, our data extends the coverage of less developed countries, among them adding 27 countries of Sub- Saharan Africa, a continent that was largely missing from the analysis of the effects of learning outcomes on economic growth. Using this extended dataset and employing several identification strategies, cognitive skills are found to have a positive impact on economic growth. We address the heterogeneity in the causal effect of cognitive skills on growth and show that the effect of skills on growth differs across regions and by the economic level of countries. Our results indicate that high-income countries should focus on increasing the number of high skilled pupils, while countries from Sub-Saharan Africa would benefit more by investing in the development of basic skills.

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  • Nadir Altinok & Abdurrahman Aydemir, 2016. "Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth," Working Papers of BETA 2016-34, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
  • Handle: RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2016-34
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    Cited by:

    1. Campbell, Susanna G. & Üngör, Murat, 2020. "Revisiting human capital and aggregate income differences," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 43-64.
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    3. Nadir ALTINOK & Claude DIEBOLT, 2023. "Cliometrics of Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling: Evidence from a New Dataset," Working Papers of BETA 2023-02, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    4. David SHAPIRO, 2017. "Linkages between Education and Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Paper 9fdf2602-7726-42b4-b168-8, Agence française de développement.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Aditya Singh & Jaison A. Manjaly, 2022. "Using Curiosity to Improve Learning Outcomes in Schools," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440211, January.
    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 Quality; Cognitive Skills; PISA; Human Capital; Growth; Development.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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