Human capital accumulation and economic growth in Asia

Abstract

[Introduction]: The emerging technologically-centered economic system of the modern world calls for the acquisition and mastery of new knowledge, or for the upgrading of skills. Traditional patterns of trade – for the most part based on cost advantages - are being replaced by trade patterns based on ‘non-price’ competitiveness (quality, information-intensity…). The need for appropriate human capital development and accumulation is a prerequisite for modern economic growth in both developed and developing economies. Placed in the broad framework of the ‘new’ growth and ‘new’ trade theories, our contribution builds on the famous hypotheses advanced by Easterlin (1981) and others, which is that the population’s formal level of schooling governs largely the acquisition and application of new knowledge and the prospects for economic development. We will analyze the developmental experiences of ten Asian countries: the ASEM-10 (minus Brunei) and India. The aim is to provide some understanding in relation to the impact of knowledge on economic growth in the selected countries since the early 1980s, via the improvement of their human capital stock. The first section assesses the salient points in the debate on the technology/ human capital - economic growth relationship. Section 2 presents the variables selected as well as the data, and it will discuss the main findings. Finally, a few conclusive avenues will be proffered.