Human and knowledge capital: A contribution to the empirics of state economic growth

Considerable debate persists over the prospects for regional economic convergence and the nature of economic growth in a sub-national context. Although endogenous growth theories have been invoked to explain persistent regional income gaps and related empirical phenomena, traditional models have yet to be fully discredited. This paper utilizes a more complete specification of a traditional growth model in an effort to better explain variations in regional per capita income and growth levels. The authors' effort involves a panel analysis of U.S. Gross State Product data that enables controlling for variations in underlying production technologies. They focus on the important role of both human and knowledge capital in specifying regional dimensions of productivity and growth. The use of alternative and unique definitions for knowledge capital inputs leads to an improved empirical understanding of the regional growth process.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Nov. 11–14, 1999.