The main
objective of this seminar was to examine the relationship between investments in
human capital
(nutrition, health and education), long-term economic growth and social development
(reduction
of poverty and inequalities).
Questions addressed during the seminar
included:
- Does the rate
of investment in human capital (nutrition, health and education) affect long-term
economic growth and social development?
- What do new theories of endogenous economic
growth tell us about the likely impact of improvements in the quality and longevity of human
capital on long-term economic growth?
- What are the transmission mechanisms by
which changes in nutrition and health status of the population will affect the rates of
returns to investments in education, labor productivity, adaptability to change and
economic growth?
- What do we know about the rate of
investments in human capital (health and education) in the Americas? What are the criteria to
define an optimal balance between the rate of investments in human capital and the rate of
savings and investments?
The seminar highlighted the incorporation
of human capital variables into endogenous economic growth models and also the
most recent empirical
evidence about the links between the nutritional and health status of a population, the
quality and longevity of human capital and countries performance in terms of long term
economic growth and social development: income growth, reduction of
poverty and inequality.
The seminar also
featured discussions of analytical models and empirical evidence examining the health
of populations as a possible explanation for the persistence of poverty and
inequality in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
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