Publication: The Contribution of Education to Economic Growth : A Review of the Evidence, with Special Attention and an Application to Sub-Saharan Africa
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Date
2014-01-31
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0305-750X
Published
2014-01-31
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This paper examines recent studies that estimate the impact of education on economic growth. It explains why cross-country regressions face formidable econometric problems. Recent studies are reviewed: some show strong impacts of education on economic growth; others show little effect. All have multiple estimation problems, which may explain their divergent results. Evidence shows that education quality in Sub-Saharan Africa is much lower than in other developing countries. Estimates from three influential studies are extended; the results suggest that the impact of education on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is lower than in other countries, likely due to lower school quality.
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