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Human capital and economic growth: Cross-country evidence from low-, middle- and high-income countries

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  • Faisal Sultan Qadri

    (Lecturer, Government Premier College Karachi, Pakistan)

  • Abdul Waheed

Abstract

The study examines the relationship between human capital and economic growth by using a cross sectional sample of 106 countries to calculate an average over the period 2002–08. Sensitivity analysis on the core model found that the results are robust in terms of inclusion of relevant variables. However, the returns of human capital vary with countries having different income levels. The study found that the low-income countries can get higher returns than the other countries in case of investing in human capital. The study also tested the hypotheses of unconditional and conditional income convergence across nations. The results indicate that human capital either resists income divergence across nations or supports convergence.

Suggested Citation

  • Faisal Sultan Qadri & Abdul Waheed, 2013. "Human capital and economic growth: Cross-country evidence from low-, middle- and high-income countries," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 13(2), pages 89-104, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:13:y:2013:i:2:p:89-104
    DOI: 10.1177/1464993412466503
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Jorge Garza-Rodriguez & Natalia Almeida-Velasco & Susana Gonzalez-Morales & Alma P. Leal-Ornelas, 2020. "The Impact of Human Capital on Economic Growth: the Case of Mexico," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(2), pages 660-675, June.
    4. Chindo Sulaiman & Umar Bala & Bulama Abiso Tijani & Salisu Ibrahim Waziri & Ibrahim Kabiru Maji, 2015. "Human Capital, Technology, and Economic Growth," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(4), pages 21582440156, November.
    5. Faisal Sultan Qadri & Abdul Waheed, 2020. "The Contribution of Human Capital in Aggregate and Sectoral Production: Evidence from Pakistan," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(2), pages 365-376, April.
    6. Imen Mohamed Sghaier, 2022. "Foreign Capital Inflows and Economic Growth in North African Countries: the Role of Human Capital," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 2804-2821, December.
    7. Qadri, Faisal Sultan & Waheed, Abdul, 2014. "Human capital and economic growth: A macroeconomic model for Pakistan," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 66-76.
    8. Klára Katona, 2018. "Impact of Knowledge Capital on the Production of Hungarian Firms," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 24(2), pages 135-146, May.
    9. Imen Mohamed Sghaier, 2021. "Foreign Financial Flows, Human Capital and Economic Growth in North African Countries," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 3, pages 355-371, September.
    10. Sajjad Barkhordari & Maryam Fattahi & Naser Ali Azimi, 2019. "The Impact of Knowledge-Based Economy on Growth Performance: Evidence from MENA Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(3), pages 1168-1182, September.
    11. Iwona Bąk & Katarzyna Wawrzyniak & Maciej Oesterreich, 2022. "Competitiveness of the Regions of the European Union in a Sustainable Knowledge-Based Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, March.
    12. Bove, Vincenzo & Elia, Leandro, 2017. "Migration, Diversity, and Economic Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 227-239.
    13. Gigi Foster, 2018. "Education Policy Reforms to Boost Productivity in Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 51(2), pages 253-261, June.
    14. Jamiu Adetola Odugbesan & Husam Rjoub, 2019. "Relationship among HIV/AIDS Prevalence, Human Capital, Good Governance, and Sustainable Development: Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, March.
    15. Chen, Kaijun & Liu, Xiaoling, 2024. "Does import trade liberalization affect youth human capital accumulation: Evidence from prefecture-level cities in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1084-1094.
    16. Sieng, Lai Wei & Yussof, Ishak, 2014. "Human Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth in Malaysia - Investigating the Long Run Nexus," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 48(1), pages 155-165.
    17. Shafaq Salam & Muhammad Hafeez & Muhammad Tariq Mahmood & Kashif Iqbal & Kashifa Akbar, 2019. "The Dynamic Relation between Technology Adoption, Technology Innovation, Human Capital and Economy: Comparison of Lower-Middle-Income Countries," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 17(1-B), pages 146-161.
    18. Teixeira, Aurora A.C. & Queirós, Anabela S.S., 2016. "Economic growth, human capital and structural change: A dynamic panel data analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1636-1648.
    19. Yang Chen & Chien-Chiang Lee & Ming Chen, 2022. "Ecological footprint, human capital, and urbanization," Energy & Environment, , vol. 33(3), pages 487-510, May.

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