Evaluating the Impact of Human Capital on Economic Dynamics in Russian Regions
R.M. MELNIKOV, V.A. TESLENKO
Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, 84, Vernadsky av., Moscow, 119571, Russia
Keywords: человеческий капитал, экономический рост, региональное развитие, образовательная структура занятых, убывающая отдача от высшего образования, регрессионный анализ панельных данных, human capital, economic growth, regional development, educational structure of employed population, decreasing return on higher education, regression analysis of panel data
Abstract
The authors evaluate the impact of human capital on economic dynamics in Russian regions against significant shifts in the educational structure of the employed population, characterized by a dominant share of people with higher education in most regions. The main hypothesis of the study states that only specific groups of regions could obtain real benefits from a significant increase in the share of employed with higher education. The results of estimation of panel regressions with fixed effects demonstrate that human capital accumulation somewhat increases the rates of economic growth in regions with industrial specialization, high scientific potential, and those located in the western part of Russia. The human capital has no significant effect on economic growth in regions with specialization in services and mining. An increase in the share of employed with higher education increases growth rates in underdeveloped and agricultural regions with decreasing return to scale. The low share of the gainfully employed population with basic vocational education constrains growth in regions specializing in industrial production and services. At the same time, the human capital concentrated in the research and development sector has no significant effect on growth even in the regions with high scientific potential due to the «disconnected» character of regional innovation systems and the low level of demand for innovations from the majority of Russian industrial enterprises.
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