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The contribution of rising school quality to U.S. economic growth

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  • You, Hye Mi

Abstract

U.S. public school expenditures per pupil increased by a factor of 9 during the 20th century. This paper quantifies how much U.S. labor quality has grown due to the rise in educational spending. A schooling model and cross-sectional earnings variations across cohorts are exploited to identify the effect of the increased school expenditures on labor quality growth. The findings are that (i) U.S. labor quality increased by 0.4% per year between 1967 and 2000, one-fifth of which is attributable to the rise in educational spending; and (ii) labor quality growth explains one-quarter of the rise in labor productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • You, Hye Mi, 2014. "The contribution of rising school quality to U.S. economic growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 95-106.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:63:y:2014:i:c:p:95-106
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2014.01.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Keller, Elisa, 2019. "Labor supply and gender differences in occupational choice," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 221-241.
    2. ZAPJI YMELE Aime Philombe, 2024. "Human Capital Productivity and "ageing" Expenditure: An OECD Study," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 14(3), pages 1-1.
    3. Eric A. Hanushek & Jens Ruhose & Ludger Woessmann, 2017. "Knowledge Capital and Aggregate Income Differences: Development Accounting for US States," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 184-224, October.
    4. Delalibera, Bruno Ricardo & Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti, 2019. "Early childhood education and economic growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 82-104.
    5. Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti & Delalibera, Bruno Ricardo, 2016. "Economic growth and complementarity between stages of human capital," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 779, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor quality growth; Rising school quality; Growth accounting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • 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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