The relationship between human capital and economic growth the case of Turkey

This thesis is to investigate the relationship between human capital and economic growth with a specific consideration to Turkey. The thesis consists of three section. In the first section, the aim, limits, importance and assumptions of the thesis are stated. In the second section, information about the concepts is given, approaches to human capital in economic growth are discussed. In the therth section, the relationship between human capital and economic growth is examined empirically for Turkey. The concept of human capital emerged when the physical capital was insufficient to explain the economic growth. Human capital refers to the qualifications of the labor force such as knowledge, skills and talent. Economic growth is the increase in goods and services produced in the country over time. Approaches to human capital in economic growth are examined within the framework of BeckerSchultz, Denison, Jorgenson and Mankiw-Romer-Weil approaches in NeoClassical growth models and Lucas, Charles Jones and Barro approaches in endogenous growth models. In Turkey, the factors that affects human capital formation is evaluated through the developments of demographic construction, labour force, education and healthcare services. Within this scope, establishment and progress process of the relevent institutions and organizations are analyzed in general terms and statistically. In addition, long-term relationship between economic growth and human capital in Turkey is analysed by looking at GDP between 2000 and 2021, data on employment, gross electricity consumption, and education & health indexes. Human capital is represented by the education index consisting of the number of students in primary-secondary-higher education, and the health index consisting of the number of physician and patient beds allocated from the GDP to the Ministry of Health budget. As a result of empirical analysis, it is found out that human capital has a positive effect on economic growth.