Abstract:
The present paper attempts to estimate the relationship between labor
productivity and health, technological progress and education, using
panel data observing 57-nation Orgamization of Islamic Coopeation,
OIC over the period of 1995-2009. A two-step procedure was used with
the first involving an estimate of labor productivity based on
observations in the OPEC, GCC and ECO member countries and also
African nations within the Islamic countries. The second step involved
an estimate of the effect on labor productivity of health, technological
progress and education. Our findings indicate that labor productivities
in Islamic countries with some exceptions on an average are above 3
with the highest of 12 belonging to Azerbaijan. Exceptions are Somalia
and Gabon with negative productivities and Brunei and Cameroun with
productivities around one. The only variable influencing labor
productivity in the Islamic countries is health with technology and
education having no meaningful influence.
Machine summary:
The Role of Health in Labor Productivity: A Case Study of Member Countries of Organization of Islamic Cooperation Samira Motaghi1, Abbas Assari2, Lotfali Agheli3 Received: 11/12/2014 Accepted: 27/1/2016 Abstract The present paper attempts to estimate the relationship between labor productivity and health, technological progress and education, using panel data observing 57-nation Orgamization of Islamic Coopeation, OIC over the period of 1995-2009.
Since the labor productivity in these countries is either unobserved or where observed is unavailable, we opted estimate this variable first and proceed to study how education, health and technological progress affect it second.
To measure the effect of education(x1), health(x2) and technological progress(x3) on labor productivity(y), we use the following empirical model: y = b0 + b1 x1 + b2 x 2 + b3 x3 + µ (3) Where, with the exception of y all other variab les are observed.
2. Parameter Estimates The question of how do education, health and technological progress affect labor productivities across the countries and overtime is addressed in this section.
After safeguarding for robutness of econometric model, we proceeded to estimate the parameters that determine how the growth in variables expenditures on education, life expectancy at birth and exports of technology affect labor productivity in the case of Islamic countries (Table 7).
None of the other variables, namely education and technological progress do have any meaningful effect on labor productivity in the case of Islamic countries.
"Labor Productivity Growth, Education, Health and Technological Progress: A Cross-Country Analysis".