Distribution of graduates by fields and economic growth

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of distribution in terms of tertiary education graduates by fields on economic growth over the 1998 – 2012 periods for 27 OECD countries by using a two-step System GMM method proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998). We calculate distribution of graduates from education, humanities and arts, social sciences, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and health and welfare through standard deviation methods. Our results reveal that for all fields, except education and agriculture, the distribution of graduates among the sub-fields of the mentioned fields has a positive and significant effect on economic growth. The results obtained from this study may help universities, governments and enterprises plan their invest-ments on human capital. In addition, governments can consider our results to determine the allocation of resources for tertiary education and to develop effective employment policies.