Edumacation

It’s vastly important. Human capital is not the end all be all for growth, but is a huge component in many different ways. Alan Greenspan has noted before that the reason why OECD countries growth rates are around 2 or 3% is because there are strains on human capital. This should not be taken as a sign to give up, for 3% compounded growth is still very impressive and can shake the world given enough time. It is vastly better than 1 or even 2% growth, anyhow. America has seen its level of educated people attaining tertiary degrees and beyond, the ones that give skill specific and specialized training, decrease as the years have passed.

Clive Crook examines some new charts. Russia led the way yesteryear, back in the days when it didn’t much matter because of communism, but has expanded its lead on the US by a big margin. Reasons to be wary of the data, though, follow in the comments. The US has awesome immigration and many workers get their degrees midcareer, which may in fact be more useful and powerful than going straight from high school to attaining a PhD.