Chapter 14

Education, knowledge capital, and economic growth

Eric A. Hanushek a , and Ludger Woessmann b       a Hoover Institution, Stanford University, CESifo, IZA, and NBER, Stanford, CA, United States      b University of Munich, Ifo Institute, CESifo and IZA, Munich, Germany

Abstract

This article reviews the role of education in promoting economic growth, with a particular focus on the role of knowledge capital, or the aggregate skills of a country. It concludes that there is strong evidence that the cognitive skills of the population – rather than mere school attainment – are powerfully related to long-run economic growth. The relationship between knowledge capital and growth proves extremely robust in empirical applications. ...

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