Knowledge Capital and Aggregate Income Differences: Development Accounting for US States\

Hanushek, Eric A.; Ruhose, Jens and Wößmann, Ludger (2017): Knowledge Capital and Aggregate Income Differences: Development Accounting for US States\. In: American Economic Journal-Macroeconomics, Vol. 9, No. 4: pp. 184-224

Abstract

Improvement in human capital is often presumed to be important for state economic development, but little research links better education to state incomes. We develop detailed measures of worker skills in each state that incorporate cognitive skills from state-and-country-of-origin achievement tests. These new measures of knowledge capital permit development accounting analyses calibrated with standard production parameters. Differences in knowledge capital account for 20-30 percent of the state variation in per capita GDP, with roughly even contributions by school attainment and cognitive skills. Similar results emerge from growth accounting analyses. These estimates support school improvement as a strategy for state economic development.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Economics
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
• ISSN: 1945-7707
• Language: English