Application of Different Scenarios of Risk-Taking and Economies of Scale in Primary Education on Human Capital Development and Economic Growth

Abstract

In economic growth and development literature, the role of human capital and its development is always considered with great importance. One of the most important types of education in human capital creation is primary (elementary and secondary) education, which is invested by public sector and since primary education has comprehensive role for society, it is also referred to as general education. Therefore, the role and contribution of public education on GDP and economic growth is one of the fundamental questions for economists in the field of education. There are always many questions about general education. For example, given the budgetary constraints, how much investment should be made in the field of public education? What is the impact of investment and budget allocation to this sector on economic growth? Does spending in public education has led to development of human capital? Do the educational conditions i.e. economies of scale in education and society conditions i.e. risk-taking of individuals affect the impact of general education on human development? These questions are addressed in this paper, with the focus on the effects of different risk-taking scenarios and economies of scale in education on human capital development and economic growth. In this research, we have further developed Teles and Andrade (2008) model to examines the contribution of government public expenditure on primary and secondary education (Ministry of Education) on economic growth in Iran based on various risk-taking and economies of scale in educational scenarios for year 2016. Based on our results, the average contribution of general education on economic growth was 1.141 percentage points with different exact values in different risk-aversion scenarios. But with decreasing risk aversion, primary education contribution on economic growth will increase. In different situations, the effect of general education on economic growth has always been positive but when there is a decreeing return on human capital in national production, there is a negative contribution for risky people. A 1.141 percentage point of primary education contribution to economic growth indicate that 13.7 percent of economic growth in year 2016 (3.8 percent) was the result of investing in primary (elementary and secondary) education.

Keywords

• investment
• human capital
• education and training
• economic growth
• risk-taking