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Which Contributes More to Economic Growth in the MENA Region: Health or Education? An Empirical Investigation

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  • Atif Awad

    (University of Sharjah)

Abstract

This study reinvestigates the debate on the potential influence of human capital on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and takes into account two different proxies of human capital: health and education. The present study adopts a dynamic model built on the pooled mean group estimator (PMG) and analysed panel data covering 20 countries between 1990 and 2016. The results detect that, in the long run, while education has a positive and significant effect on economic growth, health has a negative but negligible influence on such growth. However, in the short run, health plays a positive and remarkable role in the growth process. This finding suggests the importance of distinguishing between the long- and short-run influences of human capital measurement on economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Atif Awad, 2021. "Which Contributes More to Economic Growth in the MENA Region: Health or Education? An Empirical Investigation," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(3), pages 1119-1133, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:12:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s13132-020-00662-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-020-00662-0
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    4. Sheng Xu & Michael Asiedu & Nana Adwoa Anokye Effah, 2023. "Inclusive Finance, Gender Inequality, and Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 4866-4902, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Health; MENA; Long and short run; JEL classification; I15; I25; O47;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • 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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