Long-term Impact of Human Capital on Economic Growth: A Panel Data Analysis on the Balkan Countries
Cengiz Yılmaz
Department of Business Administrations, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
Banu Demirhan *
Department of Economics, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate empirically the impact of human capital on economic growth in the long run empirically by using the data of the Balkan countries. Panel cointegration technique and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) methods are used in the econometric estimations. FMOLS estimations indicate that one point increase in tertiary education enrollment rate and in the ratio of the health expenditures to GDP increase real GDP per capita by 1.3 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively. In addition, FMOLS results show that one point increase in the ratio of the health expenditures to GDP increases real GDP per capita by 13.1 percent. According to DOLS estimations, similar results are obtained. Once labor productivity is taken as dependent variable in the models, it is concluded that an increase in human capital increases labor productivity in the Balkan countries.
Keywords: Human capital, Balkan countries, FMOLS, DOLS