Title: Education-economic growth nexus in BRICS countries: does financial development matter?

Authors: Kunofiwa Tsaurai

Addresses: Department of Banking, Risk Management and Finance, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, UNISA, 0003, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract: The paper explored education-finance-growth nexus in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) using GMM approach with panel data (1994-2014). According to the endogenous growth theories, both human capital and financial development positively influence economic growth. However, studies that have investigated the complementarity between human capital and financial development in affecting economic growth are very scant. The few available are not specific on education in the finance-growth nexus. Instead, they focused on human capital which is quite broad and might not be helpful in crafting education-financial sector policies that enhance growth. The study observed that education expenditure positively but non-significantly influenced growth in all the seven models. Moreover, the positive impact of education expenditure interacted with different financial development indicators either increased or became significant. BRICS countries are therefore urged to increase expenditure towards education and at the same time deepen their financial systems in order to experience more growth.

Keywords: education; growth; financial sector; BRICS; Brazil; Russia; India; China; South Africa.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2017.088817

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2017 Vol.8 No.4, pp.250 - 265

Received: 01 Jun 2017
Accepted: 28 Jul 2017
Published online: 19 Dec 2017 *

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