International TFP Dynamics and Human Capital Stocks: A Panel Data Analysis, 1960-2003
34 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2008
There are 2 versions of this paper
International TFP Dynamics and Human Capital Stocks: A Panel Data Analysis, 1960-2003
International TFP Dynamics and Human Capital Stocks: A Panel Data Analysis, 1960-2003
Date Written: August 27, 2008
Abstract
This paper adopts a fixed-effect panel methodology that enables us to take into account both TFP and neoclassical convergence. We use a sample of 76 countries, 1960-2003 and estimate TFP values obtained by using different estimators such as LSDV, Kiviet-corrected LSDV, and GMM a la Arellano and Bond. In our estimates, cross-country TFP dynamics shows that most countries in the sample do not catch up with the USA. We also find conditional convergence in TFP levels and that human capital acts as a robust enhancing factor of technology adoption, as suggested by Nelson and Phelps in 1966. In contrast with previous evidence, in our results even very low level of human capital stocks allow a country to enter a "conditional TFP convergence club" - a result again consistent with the original version of the Nelson-Phelps hypothesis. Further, our results imply a plausible link between stages of development and returns to different levels of education. Finally, the positive influence of human capital on technology catch up is robust to the inclusion of controls for a country's institutional quality.
Keywords: economic growth, TFP, human capita, dynamic panel data
JEL Classification: O47, O33, C23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Technological Diffusion, Spatial Spillovers and Regional Convergence in Europe
By Raffaele Paci and Francesco Pigliaru
-
Productivity Dynamics in a Large Sample of Countries: A Panel Study
By Nazrul Islam
-
How to Measure the Unobservable: A Panel Technique for the Analysis of TFP Convergence
By Adriana Di Liberto, Roberto Mura, ...
-
Total Factor Productivity, Intangible Assets and Spatial Dependence in the European Regions
By Barbara Dettori, Emanuela Marrocu, ...
-
Convergence Across Italian Regions and the Role of Technological Catch-Up
-
Intangible Capital and Productivity: An Exploration on a Panel of Italian Manufacturing Firms
-
Intangible Capital and Firms Productivity
By Emanuela Marrocu, Raffaele Paci, ...
-
Real Convergence and Regional Policy in the European Union: Evidence from 1990s