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

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hanushek, Eric A.; Ruhose, Jens; Woessmann, Ludger
• 署名单位: Stanford University; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; National Bureau of Economic Research; Leibniz University Hannover; IZA Institute Labor Economics; University of Munich; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MACROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7707
• DOI: 10.1257/mac.20160255
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 184-224
• 关键词: Cognitive skills; UNITED-STATES; School quality; self-selection; GROWTH; education; earnings; ECONOMICS; outcomes; returns

摘要

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.