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Human Capital and Growth: New Evidences from African Data

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  • Dorothee Boccanfuso
  • Luc Savard
  • Bernice Elvire Savy

Abstract

Economic theory has long acknowledged a positive relation between human capital and economic growth (Smith, 1776; Becker, 1964), which was nevertheless called into question in the late 1990s (Caselli et al ., 1996; Pritchett, 2001). The two primary criticisms evoked were the failure to consider diminishing returns to education and qualitative aspects of the stock of human capital. This work aims to redress inadequacies in the literature related to the usual proxy of human capital by advancing a composite indicator of human capital (PCA). This indicator allows for an integration of the qualitative aspects in question and uses the indicator of the stock of human capital (Mincer, 1974) to take diminishing returns into consideration. Adopting the methodology developed by Islam (1995) allows for the impact of human capital to become positive once again in the process of economic growth. The data also reveal a conditional convergence process for the 22 African countries considered over the period 1970 to 2000.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothee Boccanfuso & Luc Savard & Bernice Elvire Savy, 2013. "Human Capital and Growth: New Evidences from African Data," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 55-77, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intecj:v:27:y:2013:i:1:p:55-77
    DOI: 10.1080/10168737.2012.659276
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    1. Mikael Lindahl & Alan B. Krueger, 2001. "Education for Growth: Why and for Whom?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1101-1136, December.
    2. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2004. "Returns to investment in education: a further update," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 111-134.
    3. Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1997. "Technological Diffusion, Convergence, and Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, March.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hüseyin ŞEN & Ayşe KAYA & Barış ALPASLAN, 2018. "Education, Health, and Economic Growth Nexus: A Bootstrap Panel Granger Causality Analysis for Developing Countries," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society.
    3. Aurora A. C. Teixeira & N. Renuga Nagarajan & Sandra T. Silva, 2017. "The Impact of Ageing and the Speed of Ageing on the Economic Growth of Least Developed, Emerging and Developed Countries, 1990–2013," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 909-934, August.
    4. Gangadhar Dahal, 2016. "The Triangular Causality among Education, Health and Economic Growth: A Time Series Analysis of Nepal," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 3606364, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    5. Abdul Haseeb & Enjun Xia & Shah Saud & Muhammad Usman & Muhammad Umer Quddoos, 2023. "Unveiling the liaison between human capital, trade openness, and environmental sustainability for BRICS economies: Robust panel‐data estimation," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(2), pages 229-256, May.
    6. Hüseyin Sen & Ayse Kaya & Baris Alpaslan, 2015. "Education, Health, and Economic Growth Nexus: A Bootstrap Panel Granger Causality Analysis for Developing Countries," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1502, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    7. Agnieszka Witoń, 2015. "Spatial Diversity in the Socio-Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa as Measured by a Composite Index," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 3(1), pages 75-85.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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