The Importance of Education for Economic Growth in ASEAN
Abstract
Education is a crucial factor in ensuring economic growth, particularly in emerging and developing countries. However, according to the World Bank (2019), only 59% of potential productivity growth was attributed to human capital investment in ASEAN, suggesting that such investment does not significantly impact growth. This study, therefore, examined the role of education in economic development across the ASEAN region, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Brunei. Utilizing panel data from 1985 to 2021 for these ten ASEAN countries, the study employed both random effect and fixed effect models. The study presents two main findings: Firstly, it shows that education and purchasing power parity have a positive relationship with economic growth. Secondly, it identifies inflation as having a negative effect on economic development. This research highlights the importance of education in driving economic growth within ASEAN countries. Policymakers can benefit from these findings in formulating strategies to enhance education and mitigate inflation, thereby fostering economic development in the region.
Copyright (c) 2024 Gading Journal for Social Sciences (e-ISSN 2600-7568)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.