Specific and general human capital in an endogenous growth model

In this paper, we define specific (general) human capital in terms of the occupations whose use is spread in a limited (wide) set of industries. We analyze the growth impact of an economy’s composition of specific and general human capital, in a model where education and R&D are costly and complementary activities. The model suggests that a declining share of specific human capital, as observed in the Czech Republic, can be associated with a lower rate of long run growth. We also discuss optimal educational policies in the presence of market frictions