Human Capital and Economic Growth: A Quantile Regression Approach

A number of previous studies (Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Grier) have attempted to gauge the differential impact of regressors such as human capital and investment on the performance of fast and slow growing economies. To date, most such studies impose a single marginal impact on all countries for each such determinant by estimating only one regression coefficient for the whole sample. This paper seeks to determine whether there are different payoffs to fast and slow growing countries from growth determinants, and employs the technique of quantile regression, a method frequently used in many labor and other microeconomic studies. Results indicate that human capital in particular has a larger marginal benefit for countries that have experienced fast growth, but little significant impact on slow growing nations. Policy implications, however, are not clear-cut and require careful consideration.