Education and economic growth in Iraq : 1953-1974

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of education on economic growth in Iraq over the years 1953-74. During this period real GDP (excluding crude oil extraction) had risen substantially from I. D. 219.02 million to I. D. 1015.09 million, that is, an annual average growth rate of 16.5%. There bad also been a remarkable expansion in the educational system since the early 1930's and the numbers of school leavers and graduates increased at rapid rates. For this purpose the aggregate Cobb-Douglas production function approach was adopted and annual time series data on real GDP and such inputs as capital, labour, land and education were used in the empirical estimation. The major finding of this work is that, considered as a quality augmenting variable to the labour force, education does contribute significantly to the growth rates of the GDP, and that this contribution stems from a positive, high and increasing' marginal product to the educational input. The policy implication that emerges from this finding is that in order to sustain and promote higher rates of growth of the GDP, the rapid expansion which bad taken place in the educational system should be encouraged and more resources should be allocated to this vital sector of the economy.