Human Capital and Performance of South Asian Economies: A Panel ARDL approach to Co-integration

Abstract

In modern times of knowledge management, intellectual capital grasped considerable attention not only from academia and corporate sector but also from national policymakers. Major intellectual capital component of an economy is human capital which comprises talents, knowledge, skills etc. that nation has, which render economic value. Collective abilities i.e. education, health, training, talents, megastructures, physical assets etc. of a nation, aids in the growth and development of an economy. The scope of the study is to explore the long-term boning between performance and intellectual capital facet aka human capital (HC) in South Asian economies. Human capital index, which incorporates different facets of human capital is used to explore its link with the economic performance of the region. Panel ARDL approach evidenced long term bonding between variables of interest. Further analysis corroborates bi-directional causality amongst human capital and performance of the economy. Nations must spend considerable attention towards the development of human capital besides flourishing physical capital, so that economy can grow and embellish in sustainable terms.