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Human capital investments in a democracy

Author

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  • Papageorgiou, Stylianos
  • Xefteris, Dimitrios

Abstract

A public and a private investment in human capital, plus intrinsic skills, contribute to each household’s human capital. The public investment is decided by the winner of a democratic election between two office-motivated candidates. We show that households with too low or too high human capital are less likely to vote for the candidate that supports the larger public investment, as opposed to households with moderate human capital. Moreover, the property of single-peaked preferences is violated. Despite the absence of well-behaved preferences, we identify sufficient conditions for the existence, uniqueness and efficiency of an equilibrium public investment in human capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Papageorgiou, Stylianos & Xefteris, Dimitrios, 2025. "Human capital investments in a democracy," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:247:y:2025:i:c:s0165176524006074
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112123
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital; Democracy; Differentiated candidates;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

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