Diagnosing Human Capital as a Binding Constraint to Growth

The empirical literature on the contributions of human capital investments to economic growth shows mixed results. While evidence from OECD countries demonstrates that human capital accumulation is associated with growth accelerations, the substantial efforts of developing countries to improve access to and quality of education, as a means for skill accumulation, did not translate into higher income per capita. In this Element, we propose a framework, building on the principles of 'growth diagnostics', to enable practitioners to determine whether human capital investments are a priority for a country's growth strategy. We then discuss and exemplify different tests to diagnose human capital in a place, drawing on the Harvard Growth Lab's experience in different development context, and discuss various policy options to address skill shortages.

Crystalline silicon quantum dots formation by tailored plasma irradiation: self-structurization, nucleation and growth accelerations, and size control

Crystalline silicon nanoparticles under nanometer scale have been garnering great interest in many different optoelectronic applications such as photovoltaic and light-emitting-diode devices. Formation, crystallization, and size control of silicon nanoparticles...

Business-State Interactions

This chapter extends Chapter 8’s political settlement framework by addressing business-state interactions operating within specific types of settlements. Three levels of interaction follow. At the macro level, political settlements shape such interactions. At an intermediate (meso) level, market configurations—that is, their degrees of competitiveness and domestic versus export orientation—affect the demands businesses place on the state. These dynamics influence the accessibility (openness) of micro-level exchange agreements (deals) as well as their credibility—specifically, the degree to which they are ordered, meaning honored and predictable, or disordered. A shift from disordered to ordered deals reflects resolution of second-order CAPs of enforcing agreements. Such a shift can prompt growth accelerations that facilitate escaping poverty traps. More substantial development, however, requires addressing Chapter 4’s complex coordination CAPs.

Evaluating the Kisan Credit Card Scheme: Some Results for Bihar and India

The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was introduced in India in 1998–1999 and has since become a flagship programme providing access to short-term credit in the agricultural sector. According to the Government of India, over a 100 million cards had been issued cumulatively by March 2011. Using data from 2005–2006 to 2009–2010, the article critically examines the determinants of KCC lending across states in India and districts in Bihar. We also examine the effects of the scheme on agricultural growth and yields. Our results suggest that states with initially better access to agricultural credit show subsequently greater amounts of KCC lending. However, Bihar and other BIMARU states also show faster adoption rates that cannot be explained by their recent growth accelerations. Within Bihar, we see that districts with initially greater lending in KCC continue to pull further away from other districts, while in terms of account holders there is evidence of convergence. Finally, we do not see any evidence of KCC lending on state- or district-level agricultural productivity. JEL: Q14, Q0, O41, O47