Kohei Okada

Employing an overlapping generations model with endogenous education choice and corruption, we investigate how child labor and corruption influence human capital accumulation and development. We show that multiple steady states exist in the economy. One steady state has a high level of human capital, while the other has a low level of human capital. In the steady state with a low level of human capital, child labor and corruption exist, fertility and child mortality rates are high, and the welfare level is low. Conversely, in the steady state with a high level of human capital, child labor and corruption are diminished, fertility and child mortality rates are low, and welfare is high. In addition, we show that it is difficult to steer an economy away from a poverty trap with child labor and corruption because bureaucrats of the current generation are opposed to policy changes, such as the reinforcement of monitoring and penal regulations. However, we highlight the possibility for the government to develop the economy in the poverty trap by implementing an education policy, which is Pareto improving.

We employ a research and development (R&D) based growth overlapping-generations model with endogenous education decision-making and the government’s education policy to examine how education policy and human capital accumulation influence R&D activities. According to our study, an increase in the government’s public education expenditure has an inverted U-shaped effect on the steady-state growth rate. Moreover, a tax rate level that maximizes the steady-state growth rate exists. At this tax rate level, the steady-state welfare level is also maximized.

Employing an overlapping-generations model of R&D-based growth with endogenous fertility, mortality, and education choice, we examine how demographic changes and human capital accumulation influence R&D activity. We show that multiple steady states can exist in this economy. One steady state has a high level of human capital and the other has a low level. In the steady state with high (low) level of human capital, there is a high (low) level of R&D activity, a low (high) fertility rate, and a high (low) old-age survival rate. In addition, we show that the government can steer an economy away from a poverty trap trajectory by investing in public health. We also show that an improvement in the government’s public health policy has an inverted U-shaped effect on the growth rate at the steady state.