This paper develops a new latent index of human capital identified as valuable skills for seventy countries for the period 1970-2003. The index is compared to existing measures of human capital in assessing the Benhabib and Spiegel (2005) model of logistic technology diffusion. The study undertakes extensive sensitivity analysis and accounts for alternative production functions, capital-skill c...

This paper considers the importance of local champions for the successful initiation and development of car clubs. The parallels between car club champions and other environmental champions are explored and the roles such individuals have within companies and communities are investigated. The paper highlights how important it is for car club champions to be embedded within the community so that...

This paper provides what we believe to be the first collection of data on social capital in the transition countries of Central/Eastern Europe and of the former Soviet Union. Using data from the World Values Survey 1990 and 1995 we document the degree of trust and of civic participation and find that these indicators of social capital are significantly lower than in OECD countries. The paper al...

This paper provides what we believe to be the first collection of data on social capital in the transition countries of central/eastern Europe and of the former Soviet Union. Using data from the World Values Survey 1990 and 1995 we document the degree of trust and of civic participation and find that these indicators of social capital are significantly lower than in OECD countries (Organisation...

While policy makers widely recognise the fact that education serves as an engine for economic growth through the accumulation of human capital, education is also strongly associated with boosting levels of social capital. Indeed, an important justification for the large expenditures on education within many democratic nations is its social, and not just economic, impact – the benefits an educat...

A key prediction of standard models of economic growth is that the output-capital ratio is constant along the economy’s balanced growth path. Using data for 16 OECD countries over 135 years we examine whether the output-capital ratio reverts to a constant in the long run using univariate and panel stationarity tests with structural breaks. Univariate unit root tests with one and two breaks in t...

Maintaining Social Ties: Social Capital in a Global Information Age John F. Helliwell Abstract Recent research has documented that social and economic relations remain strikingly local, at least especially when viewed in the light of many discussions of globalization. The main evidence for this is that the density of social and economic exchanges declines far more with distance, and with the cr...

Public and private expenditure on educational institutions accounts for about 6% of the collective GDP of the OECD member countries, or roughly $1,300 billion dollars each year. This figure understates the true opportunity cost of educational investments, since it does not take into account forgone earnings. Overall, it should be clear that the provision of education represents a major commitme...

In public administration, knowledge management (KM) is increasingly advocated for improving novelty and agility in policy development and service delivery. This study identifies factors influencing KM, theorizes their interaction effects based on the resourcebased view, and assesses the impact of KM on organizational effectiveness. Physical resources invested specifically to promote KM (e.g., K...