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Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper introduces a model in which greater inequality reduces growth in economies with low levels of financial development but that this effect is attenuated in economies with more developed systems. The model also predicts that individuals in economies with developed financial markets have a higher tolerance to inequality. Using a panel dataset that covers a large number of countries, this paper shows empirical evidence that is consistent with the main predictions of the model. Overall, this paper's major findings highlight that some of the pernicious effects of inequality can be attenuated by improving access to credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Australia since the 1960s has been one of substantial economic change. One of the key drivers of this has been the growth in the importance of human capital formation and the knowledge intensification of occupations. This paper analyses the intensification of knowledge in different types of employment, over the longer term and the corresponding increase in human capital formation. In order to undertake this analysis, the O*NET measures of knowledge and Australian employment data are used to determine the degree to which human capital in Australia has changed. The paper concludes that there has been a slow but steady rise in the knowledge intensity of Australian occupations over the past thirty-five years, although not uniformly across different groups and consequent level of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effect of federalism on fertility and growth. In a model with human capital accumulation and endogenous fertility, two regimes of education finance are compared: central and local. I find that local education finance yields higher growth at the price of increased inequality. The effect of federalism on total and differential fertility rates depends on the elasticity of substitution between children and consumption. The paper also empirically examines the relationship between fertility rates and fiscal decentralisation on a panel of OECD countries and finds a weak negative effect of decentralisation on total and differential (poor minus rich) fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central component of most economic models that analyse the transition from the Malthusian regime to self-sustaining developed economies is education. Improved health is normally envisaged as simply a by-product of economic growth. Whereas growth does, indeed, tend to improve health status, the reverse is also true, namely that health improvements are a dynamic force capable of driving economic expansion. This paper underlines the importance of health improvements in escaping from Malthusian stagnation. Further, and in contrast to existing literature, which emphasizes the effects of changes in mortality rates, this paper focuses on the relationship between health status and the efficiency of human capital technology. Through this channel, health improvements stimulate investments in child quality in terms of both nourishing and schooling and drive the economy towards the Modern Growth regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work discussed in Bivand and Brunstad (2003 ) was an attempt to throw light on apparent variability in regional convergence in relation to agriculture as a sector subject to powerful political measures, in Western Europe, 1989–1999. The present study takes up a number of points made in conclusion in that paper. Since it is possible that the non-stationarity found there is related to further missing variables, including the inadequacy of the way in which agricultural subsidies are represented, we attempt to replace the agriculture variables with better estimates of producer subsidy equivalents. It is also sensible to check that agricultural support is not masking or masked by other variables, for example human capital. The article is also an account of the development of software contributed to the project ( Development Core Team, 2005 ) as packages, in particular the spdep package for spatial econometrics. New functions generously contributed by researchers will be presented and compared. We find that agricultural support does impact regional economic growth after human capital is taken into consideration, and that we can show that apparent non-stationarity is alleviated by adding these variables.We further find that the moderated remaining spatial autocorrelation can best be represented by a substantive spatial lag model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microeconometric evidence reveals high private returns to education, most prominently in low-income countries. However, it is disputed to what extent this translates into a macroeconomic impact. This paper projects the increase in human capital from higher education in Malawi and uses a dynamic applied general equilibrium model to estimate the resulting macroeconomic impact. This is contingent upon endogenous adjustments, in particular how labour productivity affects competitiveness and if this in-turn stimulates exports. Choice among labour market assumptions and trade elasticities results in widely different outcomes. Appraisal of such policies should consider not only the impact on human capital stocks, but also adjustments outside the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human capital model is the basis of neoclassical analysis of labour markets, education and economic growth. However, education policy in Australia has been influenced by models based on screening theory and public choice theory which yield the policy implication that reductions in education spending are generally desirable. In this paper, the competing models, and the evidence supporting them, are surveyed. It is concluded that the human capital model is strongly supported by the available evidence. The predictions of screening models are generally not supported by empirical tests, except where they coincide with those of the human capital model. The main evidence supporting the public choice model, derived from the literature on educational production functions, is shown to be deficient. The principal policy conclusion of the paper is that the negative effects of recent cuts in education spending will outweigh any benefits achieved through reductions in public debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence suggests that poorer countries have larger amounts of predation. We formulate a neoclassical growth model in which agents devote time to either produce or predate. When the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital is lower than one, the labour share rises with capital, reducing the incentive to predate and increasing the incentive to produce throughout the transition. Consequently, a feedback process between capital accumulation and predation arises, which amplifies income differences generated by differences in productivity. This paper helps to explain why differences between countries have remained stable and the key role that institutions play in development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Output growth, investment and the real interest rate in long-run evidence tend to be negatively affected by inflation. Theoretically, inflation acts as a human capital tax that decreases output growth and the real interest rate, but increases the investment rate, opposing evidence. This paper resolves this puzzle by requiring exchange for investment as well as consumption. Inflation then decreases the investment rate, and still decreases both output growth and real interest up to some moderately high rate of inflation, above which increasingly low investment finally causes capital to fall relative to labour, and the real interest rate to rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to his Nobel Prize-winning work in economic development and human capital, T.W. Schultz focused his attention most centrally on the economics of U.S. agriculture. His research on this subject, published mostly between 1932 and 1951, laid the foundation for his later work. However, the lasting value of Schultz's earlier work may appear to have been called into question even by the author himself. In the three books of collected writings he published toward the end of his life (Schultz, 1990, 1993a, 1993b), very few early writings are reprinted or even cited. Nonetheless, among agricultural economists, Schultz's earlier work has been as influential as his later work became among economists generally. In the American Economic Association's (1969) compilation, Schultz was referenced in the index more than any other economist, and all twenty-two references to his works refer to studies of U.S. agriculture (and only two of them to his work on human capital). In this paper, I review Schultz's contributions under two headings: the economics of farming and agricultural policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T.W. Schultz's theory of entrepreneurship is among his least known, but most interesting, contributions. While entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as important for economic organization and development, it is not a major component of the economist's day-to-day toolkit. This paper describes Schultz's approach and compares it to other concepts of entrepreneurship in economics and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor markets are the conduits through which labor moves from rural to urban areas, a shift in population that will drive China's development. Although the focus of considerable research, scholars do not agree on how well labor markets have been functioning during the past two decades. It is the aim of this article to understand how well labor markets are functioning in rural China. The authors review previous studies on rates of return to human capital and examine why it can argued that labor markets are not functioning well. The authors also consider if methodology plays a role in explaining the low estimated rates of return reported in other studies.

Human capital, or a better educated labour force, is a major determinant of economic growth and productivity. However, recent trends in the cost of education in Australia may cause growth and productivity to suffer. For example, during the period 1982-2003 inflation rose on average by 4.4 per cent per annum, whereas the cost of education grew overall on average by 7.8 per cent. This has made education a relatively expensive item among Australian households. However, one can argue that the increased cost of education to private households may reflect choices to purchase a higher quality for their children in private schools and as such government should not be concerned about it. This paper compares and contrasts the cost of education in Australia and comparable economies with the cost of other goods and services embedded in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) basket, using the latest available quarterly data. Finally, the major determinants of the rising cost of education in Australia are examined. It is found, inter alia, that over the period 1986-2003 the increasing number of students enrolled at non-government primary and secondary schools and the introduction of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) were two important determinants of the rising cost of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the realignments induced by inflation within an endogenous growth monetary economy. Accelerating inflation raises the ratio of the real wage to the real interest rate, and so raises the use of physical capital relative to human capital across all sectors. We find cointegration evidence for the US and UK economies consistent with a general equilibrium, Tobin-type, effect of inflation on input prices and capital intensity, even while the growth rate of output is reduced by inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the applicability of the Nelson-Phelps approach to the modelling of human capital in economic growth for the sample of OECD countries. A case is made for confining the approach to the technology diffusion component and for combining it with the Lucas approach. For such a hybrid model, both the favoured interpretation of the Nelson-Phelps approach, as well as the Lucas approach, are supported by the evidence. The sensitivity of the findings is assessed with regard to the use of alternative human capital data sets, including quality (adjusted) measures, and with regard to data outliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Population & Development Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of investment in education on U.S. economic growth. Education is treated as an investment in human capital, since benefits accrue to an educated individual over a lifetime of activities. One of the most important benefits is higher income from labor market participation. This is the key to understanding the link between investment in education and economic growth. Our most important finding is that investment in human and nonhuman capital accounts for an overwhelming proportion of the growth of the U.S. economy during the postwar period. Educational investment will continue to predominate in the investment requirements for more rapid growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the determinants of regional economic growth in the European Union adopting a non-parametric approach. Although the local-linear kernel estimator applied does not explicitly take into account the spatial dimension of the data, it is found to be consistent in our context. In addition, the geographically weighted regression turns out to be less efficient. We obtain evidence of a non-linear relationship between regional growth and its determinants in the form of parameter heterogeneity and threshold effects. These non-linearities mainly affect the initial productivity of labour, the human capital endowment and, as a novelty, the level of infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests that the weak empirical effect of human capital on growth in existing cross-country studies is partly the result of an inappropriate specification that does not account for the different channels through which human capital affects growth. A systematic replication of earlier results from the literature shows that both initial levels and changes in human capital have positive growth effects, while in isolation each channel often appears insignificant. The results suggest that the effect of human capital is likely to be underestimated in empirical specifications that do not account for both channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the contribution of T. W. Schultz to agriculture on the economics of farm management and marketing, as well as on agricultural policy. It has been pointed out that Schultz concerns more about the diminishing returns of land rather than on the traditional farm problems of credit and market competition. According to him, the low earnings of farm people and the farm income instability of farming can be attributed in the macroeconomy. It has been emphasized that Schultz did not employ the laissez faire policies in addressing the problems of agriculture. The importance of human capital in economic growth and development is also one of his major lifetime contribution in agriculture.

Previous research has studied the relationship between higher education and economic growth, but the results are mixed. This paper analysed higher educational investment and economic growth theoretically and studied the long-term dynamic relationship between them by using Johansen test, Granger causality test, impulse response function, variance decomposition and other empirical methods based on vector autoregressive model. The result indicates a long-term stable equilibrium relationship among higher educational fund investment, human capital investment and economic growth. Specifically, higher educational fund investment and human capital investment have a significant positive impact on economic growth. Both higher educational fund investment and human capital investment are Granger causes of economic growth. Fund input is Granger cause of human input. Therefore, fund input is a major and driving impetus for higher education to promote economic growth. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the economic literature, high-skilled emigration may either harm or benefit developing economies. Recent research highlighted several positive and negative channels through which the brain drain operates. This paper aims at evaluating the relative magnitudes of various brain drain channels and quantifying their global impact on migrants' sending countries. For this purpose, we develop a 10-region general equilibrium model of the world economy characterized by overlapping-generations dynamics. Our findings suggest that the short-run impact of brain drain on resident human capital is extremely crucial, as it affects not only the number of high-skilled workers available to domestic production, but also the sending economy's capacity to innovate/adopt modern technologies. This latter effect is particularly important in globalization, where capital investments are made in places with high production efficiencies. Hence, despite positive feedback effects, those countries facing prevalent high-skilled emigration are the most candid victims to brain drain. ( JEL F22, J24, O57) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the effect of humanitarian aid on fertility and economic growth. In an overlapping generations model, where health status in adulthood depends on health in childhood, adult agents allocate their time to work, leisure and childrearing activities. Humanitarian aid influences the probability of survival to adulthood, health in childhood, and the time that adults allocate to childrearing, giving rise to an ambiguous effect on both fertility and growth. An empirical investigation for the period 1973-2007 suggests that humanitarian aid has on average a zero effect on the rates of fertility and of per capita output growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We build an overlapping generations model to analyse the evolution of inequality as an economy develops. Our model economy resembles a 'very capitalist society'. Initially, wealth is exclusively concentrated in a rich dynasty. We ask whether or not this type of capitalist economy contains a fundamental contradiction, as claimed by Piketty in his recent book. We derive a condition under which the economy is driven to a state of perpetual inequality. However, we also show that an economy where capital deepening triggers the development process is very unlikely to be absorbed in that state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies the consequences of fragility in African states but with more focus on countries in the Greater Lakes region. Such countries constitute a development challenge given their enormous needs and difficulties associated with implementation of recovery and development programmes. Although there is no universally agreed definition of fragility, this study pays much attention to both national conflicts and those with a regional bearing. Given the scale and frequency of these conflicts, Africa has witnessed the destruction of institutions, infrastructures and systems which have impacted negatively on the growth of economies. The article reviews the causes and analyses the consequences of fragility and the conclusions are that the causes range from historical perspectives, social to economic. Similarly, the consequences not only include the destruction of human capital, institutions and infrastructures, but also the erosion of good governance and accountability. This article also emphasises the principles for engagement in the stabilisation, recovery and development programmes, but most important is the reorganisation of capacity constraints and political will as well as aligning interventions with local priorities and systems. The article concludes that provision of recovery and development programmes should be integrated within the local programmes for ownership and sustainability in such engagements and financing mechanisms should be aligned within the existing framework for efficiency and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the main viewpoints of some historical schools related with the theories on factors of production. Also, we analyse the problems associated with the present theories related to the factors of production and then, introduce some new developments. These new developments which are associated with the theory connected to the six forces of factor of production are described. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of human capital on the process of economic growth by allowing the contribution of traditional inputs (capital and labour) as well as that of human capital to vary both across countries and time. The former is accomplished by constructing an index of TFP growth for traditional inputs, while the latter through semiparametric methods. We derive estimates of the output elasticity and social return to human capital for 51 countries at various stages of economic development. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Population & Development Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This work provides data on human capital for the Guarani Jesuit missions during the eighteenth century. Based on the age heaping methodology, the results of a large sample (over 3600 observations) suggest that the knowledge of numerical skills in these missions was exceptional. A comparison with other regions and locations with different institutional frameworks, religious or otherwise, or led by other religious orders, confirms the exceptionality of the Guarani Jesuit missions. The model of these missions, based on productive self‐sufficiency and egalitarian and cohesive social organisation, as well as respect for the pre‐existing culture exemplified by their Guaranisation and adaptation to the Guarani world view and language, could explain their successful educational performance and the intergenerational transmission of human capital beyond the disappearance of the Jesuit missions after 1767. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to examine the effects of investment in human capital, as funded by EU cohesion policy, on economic development in Poland at the local (LAU 2) level, that is, at the level of municipalities. We found evidence that human capital investment has a positive effect on local revenues. This effect is stronger than what is observed for the assistance programmes not related to human capital. The impact of intervention on migration balance is in turn not significant. We also observed that the effectiveness of the assistance within the cohesion policy depends on existing regional preconditions for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current growth literature does not explain the inability of poor countries to utilize existing knowledge. This study presents a stylized development model based on firms' expansion through on-the-job training. Since trained workers can supervise and train more workers, a development process in which output and productivity increase up to a full utilization of existing technology is generated. Unlike schooling-based models, which require an assumption regarding a smaller local stock of knowledge, this study relies on the size of the industrial sector and the limited supply of training opportunities, therefore highlights barriers to development, even when technology and capital are available. ( JEL O1, O4, J2) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Outlines the alternative channels through which institutions affect economic growth. Analysis of the empirical relationship between institutions, investment and growth; Free-market institutions; Economic freedom; Political and civil liberties; Important interaction between freedom and human capital investment; Relation between political and economic freedom.

Regional and remote tourism in Australia is characterised by micro‐, small‐ and medium‐sized businesses, spatially dispersed and fragmented. Characteristics which present unique challenges for these communities attempting to develop tourism as a way of diversifying their economy. This study explored the views and experiences from residents and businesses in six remote local government areas in South Western Queensland to identify the barriers and enablers for remote communities to using tourism as a driver of economic and social‐cultural growth. We found a lack of understanding of the structure and behaviour of the tourism industry; a lack of business acumen; a lack of financial and human resources; and a reluctance to collaborate by tourism businesses to be barriers to tourism‐led economic growth. Enablers to tourism led growth included: local government support for tourism development; a sound understanding of the mechanics and structure of the tourism industry; and the capacity to engage in marketing that captured and narrated the visitor experience in digital channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the relationship between economic growth and top income inequality under the influence of human and physical capital accumulation, using an annual panel of U.S. state-level data. Our analysis is based upon the 'unified' framework offered by Galor and Moav (2004) while the empirics account for cross-section dependence, parameter heterogeneity, and endogeneity, in nonstationary series. We conclude that changes in inequality do not influence growth, neither in the short run nor in the long run in the United States as a whole in the 1929-2013 period. Our findings are robust to the inclusion of overall income inequality measures. These findings provide support for the theoretical prediction of the unified theory of inequality and growth, according to which the growth effect of inequality becomes insignificant in the latest stages of economic development that the United States experiences during our period of investigation. Therefore, future policies aiming at moderating the concentration at the upper end of income distribution are not likely to have adverse growth consequences in developed countries such as the United States. ( JEL I21, O47, C23) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China adopted a new model of growth from 2011, requiring substantial structural change. This introductory article presents statistical evidence on progress so far. Change generally is in the required direction, but slow. There has been early but slow progress on re-orienting domestic demand towards consumption; substantial re-orientation from reliance on exports towards domestic demand; and rapid change at the margin in the energy mix towards low-emissions sources. Investment in human capital is proceeding rapidly along lines required by the new model. So far, productivity growth has been slow, raising questions about future progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reconsiders the relative growth performance of centrally planned economies in the broader context of postwar growth in Europe. It reports a new dataset of revised estimates for investment rates in eastern European countries between 1950 and 1989. Complemented with data on other growth determinants, this evidence is used to re-evaluate the socialist growth record in a conditional convergence framework with a panel of 24 European countries. After controlling for relative backwardness, investment rates, and improvements in human capital, the findings show that centrally planned economies underperformed due to their relative inefficiency only after the postwar golden age. In the 1950s and 1960s, eastern Europe was falling behind mainly due to relatively low levels of investment and weak reconstruction dynamics. Both are explained, in part, by the lack of labour-supply flexibility that, in turn, resulted from the comparatively much larger negative impact of the war on population growth in eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional policy-makers have long sought to attract highly-educated workers with a view to stimulating economic growth and vibrancy. Previous studies over the decades leading up to the new millennium show human capital divergence across cities, where the share of college graduates grew faster in cities that had larger initial shares of college-educated workers. However, labour markets have changed significantly post-2000, likely affecting migration decisions of highly-skilled workers. Additionally, past studies have not controlled for important changes in industry education levels and overall industry composition that may influence city-level college graduate growth. We use detailed 4-digit NAICS industry employment data combined with public micro-data to construct measures of industry skill upgrading and changes in industry composition to control for their effects on human capital growth. We find agglomeration forces, rather than initial graduate share, explains college-graduate share growth post-2000. We also decompose graduates into bachelors and postgraduate degree holders to determine whether different forces are at play on growth of graduates at different education levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain internationalization is promoting a new cascade of agglomeration and dispersion. Headquarter tasks agglomerate in major cities in developed countries, whereas labour-intensive tasks are shed to developing countries where off-shored tasks are geographical concentrated. The entire international supply chain is productivity and welfare-enhancing, raising the efficiency of human resource use. An international supply chain can also be a route for inclusive globalization. Such benefits are offset by potential risk of volatility deriving from idiosyncratic supply shocks triggered by powerful natural disasters and other reasons and from final demand shocks. This case study of East Asia illustrates these points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and development (R&D) has a large effect on both state output and total factor productivity in the long run. Our estimates for the private sector of the U.S. states from 1963 to 2007 show that the R&D elasticity averages 0.056-0.143. The implied returns to state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from R&D spending are 82-211%. There are also positive R&D spillovers, with 70-80% of the total returns accruing to other states. We also find that states with more human capital have higher own- and other-R&D elasticities, and those in lowest tier of economic development have the least own-state R&D elasticity but the highest other-R&D elasticity. In addition, we find that the positive effect of R&D spillovers across states is larger when we consider R&D spillovers across states based on economic similarity of R&D across sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resource abundance is a blessing for some countries, but a curse for others. We show that differences across countries in the degree of fiscal decentralization can contribute to this divergent outcome. Using a large panel of countries covering several decades and various fiscal decentralization and natural resource measures, we provide empirical support for the novel hypothesis. We also study a model that combines political and market mechanisms under a unified framework to illustrate how natural resource booms may create negative effects in fiscally decentralized nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do new school types focusing on practical and business-related knowledge lead to increased economic performance? To analyse this question, this article examines the introduction of two types of modern secondary education, the Gewerbeschule and its successor, the Realschule, in nineteenth-century Bavaria. Since the opening of these schools is arguably endogenous-as it was mainly the large, prosperous cities that opened one-the estimated treatment effect capturing the economic influence of the Gewerbeschule/ Realschule will lead to biased results. To alleviate this bias, propensity score matching is adopted to compare relatively similar counties with and without these schools. Using historical county-level data on tax revenues, business formations, employment structure, and patent holdings, ordinary least squares regression analysis shows that the opening of a modern secondary school is in general positively associated with economic performance several years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies the determinants of growth for male and female business ownership in a subset of U.S. counties. The results indicate that there are important characteristic and behavioral differences between the male and female populations in each county that affect regional changes in business ownership for each gender. In particular, the education level of males and females as well as the local family structure impact the propensity for firms owned by each gender differently. A Blinder-Oaxaca type decomposition, a novel approach in the context of regional outcomes, demonstrates that although the effect of characteristic differences is larger, the behavioral differences are key to narrowing the gender disparity in business ownership. ( JEL L26, R2, R3) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Has the progress of output convergence changed within the United States? This article examines the output convergence among U.S. states for the last five decades by making several improvements over the extant literature. By applying a battery of convergence tests designed to capture nonlinear transitional dynamics to real output per worker data (i.e., nominal values deflated by state-level price), we find that output convergence has not been a feature of the continental United States since the 1970s. Instead, output convergence has proceeded among four subgroups within which constituent states have certain characteristics in common. Our regression analysis suggests that state-level characteristics related to technology and human capital play a crucial role in accounting for the formation and composition of convergence clubs, in agreement with the recent theoretical models of growth and development (e.g., Aghion et al. 2009; Gennaioli et al. 2013b). The level of technology, proxied by patents, turns out to be a consistently significant determinant even after controlling for endogeneity, suggesting that frictions in the diffusion of technology and human capital may have led to clustering of states with different levels of productivity. Our results therefore cast doubt on the common view that diffusion of knowledge and technology across state borders is frictionless. ( JEL O47, O51) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the influence of quality-adjusted educational attainment on growth and tests whether it facilitates the transfer of technology developed at the frontier for a panel of 60 countries. Using outcomes of pathogen stress as instruments, the results show that quality-adjusted educational attainment and its interaction with distance to the frontier play important roles for growth. (JEL I20, O30, O40 ) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a model of endogenous growth, in which a firm's technology and a country's human capital stock are complementary in the production of output. Production technologies are created by costly research and development (R&D) and are owned by firms that can freely choose where in the world to produce. Both production and R&D have a positive effect on a country's human capital stock. While all countries typically grow at the same rate in the long run, they differ in their levels of human capital, per capita output, and the quality of the technologies that are used in production. A country's relative position in terms of productivity is history dependent. Countries that start out with a lower human capital stock or industrialize later end up with a lower per capita GDP in long-term equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]