The Contribution of Education to Economic Growth: A Review of the Evidence, with Special Attention and an Application to Sub-Saharan Africa

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Résumé

This paper examines recent studies that estimate the impact of education on economic growth. It explains why cross-country regressions face formidable econometric problems. Recent studies are reviewed: some show strong impacts of education on economic growth; others show little effect. All have multiple estimation problems, which may explain their divergent results. Evidence shows that education quality in Sub-Saharan Africa is much lower than in other developing countries. Estimates from three influential studies are extended; the results suggest that the impact of education on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is lower than in other countries, likely due to lower school quality.

Mots-clés

education, economic growth, Sub-Saharan Africa, school quality