Mortality Rate and Property Rights in a Model with Human Capital and R&D

We use a set of established growth models, which simultaneously include human capital and R&D, to show that the effect of mortality rate in human capital accumulation is quantitatively more important than the effect of perfectly guaranteed patents on research. First, we show that the effect of mortality rate on human capital accumulation productivity may explain differences in growth paths and development levels across countries, accounting for the main features of economic development of the industrialized world in the last two centuries. Then, we explicitly compare the two types of expropriation (mortality rate and uncertainty in property rights).Institutions, Incentives, Economic Growth, Economic Development, Industrial Revolutions

R&D Spillovers in an Endogenous Growth Model with Physical Capital, Human Capital and Varieties

There is a family of models with Physical, Human capital and R&D for which convergence properties have been discussed (Arnold, 2000a; G´omez, 2005). However, spillovers in R&D have been ignored in this context. We introduce spillovers in this model and derive its steady-state and stability properties. This new feature implies that the model is characterized by a system of four differential equations. A unique Balanced Growth Path along with a two dimensional stable manifold are obtained under simple and reasonable conditions. Transition is oscillatory toward the steady-state for plausible values of parameters.

High-Tech Human Capital: Do The Richest Countries Invest the Most? (working-paper)

Research and Development (R&D) endogenous growth models predict and most evidence show that investment in R&D increases with economic development. We consider the type of human capital mainly used in research labs and show that the richest countries are investing proportionally less than middle income countries in engineering and technical human capital. We generalize this result, controlling for other explanatory variables, cross-time error correlations, heteroskedasticity and endogeneity bias. Thus, we establish a stylized fact (about human capital composition) that is a puzzle to economic theory: the ratio of high-tech to low-tech human capital presents an inverted U-shaped relationship with GDP per capita.Human Capital Composition, High-Tech Human Capital, R&D, Development

The "Iberian Tigers" versus The "Celtic Tiger": Economic Growth Paths in an Economic History perspective

The years following the Second World War are those of greatest economic growth in Europe. If the countries of the Iberian Peninsula, neutral in the conflict and ruled by dictatorial regimes, enjoyed that growth and had participated in the convergence phenomenon, Ireland, also neutral but democratic, was not able to converge to the developed world. Since 1973, with petroleum crashes, the process of growth has slowed in Europe, but it was only after 1985 that Ireland began to grow at impressive rates. We review, in an economic history perspective, the implications of the institutional environment and the economic policy decisions. We also address the consequences and plausible explanations for the different growth paths of those countries and revisit the puzzle of slow Irish growth until the middle eighties.Second World War, Economic Growth, Convergence, Periphery, Europe, Ireland, Portugal, Spain.

Absorption in Human Capital and R&D Effects in an Endogenous Growth Model

Until now, in models of endogenous growth with physical capital, human capital and R&D such as in Arnold [Journal of Macroeconomics 20 (1998)] and followers, steady-state growth is independent of innovation activities. We introduce absorption in human capital accumulation and describe the steady-state and transition of the model. We show that this new feature provides an effect of R&D in growth, consumption and welfare. We compare the quantitative effects of R&D productivity with the quantitative effects of Human Capital productivity in wealth and welfare.

Mortality Rate and Property Rights in a Model with Human Capital and R&D

We use a set of established growth models, which simultaneously include human capital and R&D, to show that the effect of mortality rate in human capital accumulation is quantitatively more important than the effect of perfectly guaranteed patents on research. First, we show that the effect of mortality rate on human capital accumulation productivity may explain differences in growth paths and development levels across countries, accounting for the main features of economic development of the industrialized world in the last two centuries. Then, we explicitly compare the two types of expropriation (mortality rate and uncertainty in property rights).Institutions, Incentives, Economic Growth, Economic Development, Industrial Revolutions

High-tech human capital: Do the richest countries invest the most?

Research and Development (R&D) endogenous growth models predict and most evidence show that investment in R&D increase with economic development. We consider the type of human capital mainly used in research labs and show that the richest countries are investing proportionally less than middle income countries in engineering and technical human capital. We generalize this result, controlling for other explanatory variables, cross-time error correlations, heteroskedaticity and endogeneity bias. Thus, we establish a stylized fact (about human capital composition) that is a puzzle to economic theory: the ratio of high-tech to low-tech human capital presents an inverted U-shaped relationship with GDP per capita.human capital composition, high-tech human capital, R&D, Development

Transitional Dynamics of an Endogenous Growth Model with an Erosion Effect

The convergence features of an Endogenous Growth model with Physical capital, Human Capital and R&D have been studied. We add an erosion effect (supported by empirical evidence) to this model, and fully characterize its convergence properties. The dynamics is described by a fourth-order system of differential equations. We show that the model converges along a one-dimensional stable manifold and that its equilibrium is saddle-path stable. We also argue that one of the implications of considering this “erosion effect” is the increase in the adherence of the model to data.

The Iberian Tigers versus The Celtic Tiger: Economic Growth Paths in an Economic History Perspective

The years following the Second World War were those of the greatest economic growth that Europe had ever seen. If the countries of the Iberian Peninsula, neutral in the conflict and ruled by dictatorial regimes, enjoyed that growth and had participated in the convergence phenomenon, Ireland, also neutral but democratic, was not able to converge to the developed world. Since 1973, with petroleum crashes, the process of growth has slowed down in Europe, but it was only after 1985 that Ireland began to grow at impressive rates. We review, in an economic history perspective, the implications of the institutional environment and the economic policy decisions. We also address the consequences and plausible explanations for the different growth paths of those countries and revisit the puzzle of slow Irish growth until middle eighties.Second World War, Economic Growth, Convergence, Europe, Ireland, Portugal, Spain

Schooling Quality in a Cross Section of Countries: a replication exercise and additional results

In this note we begin by replicate the results in “Schooling Quality in a Cross-Section of Countries†[Barro and Lee 2001, Economica 68]. Then, we go further and show that results can be different when more meaningful variables are considered. In particular, school inputs lessen their effects in some specifications, approximating the macroeconomic result from the microeconomic ones.