Growth and human capital: good data, good results

Abstract

We present a new data set for years of schooling across countriesfor the 1960-2000 period. The series are constructed from the OECDdatabase on educational attainment and from surveys published byUNESCO. Two features that improve the quality of our data with respectto other series, particularly for series in first-differences, arethe use of surveys based on uniform classification systems of educationover time, and an intensified use of information by age groups. Asa result of the improvement in quality, these new series can be usedas a direct substitute for Barro and Lee's (2001; Oxford EconomicPapers, 3, 541-563) data in empirical research. In standard cross-countrygrowth regressions we find that our series yield significant coefficientsfor schooling. In panel data estimates our series are also significanteven when the regressions account for the accumulation of physicalcapital. Moreover, the estimated macro return is consistent withthose reported in labour studies. These results differ from the typicalfindings of the earlier literature and are a consequence of the reductionin measurement error in the series.