Does formal education at all levels cause economic growth? Evidence from Greece

Abstract

Abstract This study empirically investigates the link between the levels of formal education and economic growth in Greece during the period 1960-2009. The paper applies the Lucas approach (1988) and employs cointegration, error-correction models and estimates the effect of each educational level on economic growth. The empirical analysis reveals that there is a long-run relation between educational levels and gross domestic product. The overall results show that secondary and higher education has had a statistically significant positive impact on growth, while primary has not contributed to economic growth. The findings also suggest that there is evidence of unidirectional long-run causality running from primary education to growth, bidirectional long-run causality between secondary and growth, long-run and short-run causality running from higher education to economic growth.