An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Manager’s Level of Education on Labour Productivity In the Manufacturing Sector in Uganda: 2006–2013

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of education of firm managers on labour productivityin Uganda’s manufacturing sector using enterprise survey data. Like in many SubSaharan economies, Uganda is grappling with labour productivity associated withdeficiencies and mismatch in skills, which limit the adaptation of new productiontechnologies. The human capital theory (HCT) and the endogenous growth theory(EGT) underpinned this investigation. On the basis of a Cobb-Douglas function weestimated a labour productivity equation. The paper found that attainment of higherlevels of education by firm managers improved labour productivity, and meanproductivity of individual workers at firm level. The strong linkage between managers’education and labour productivity implies that the government should focus onpolicies that improve higher education.JEL Classification: J24