The effect of human capital on growth involves multiple channels. On the one hand, an increase in human capital directly affects economic growth by enhancing labor productivity in production. On the other hand, human capital is an important input into R&D and therefore increases labor productivity indirectly by accelerating technological change. In addition, different types of human capital such as basic and higher education or training-on-the-job might play different roles in both production and innovation activities. We merge individual data on valuable patents granted in Prussia in the late nineteenth-century with county-level data on literacy, craftsmanship, secondary schooling, and income tax revenues to explore the complex relationship between various types of human capital, innovation, and income. We find that the Second Industrial Revolution can be seen as a transition period when it comes to the role of human capital. As in the preceding First Industrial Revolution, “useful knowledge” embodied in master craftsmen was related to innovation, especially of independent inventors. As in the subsequent twentieth century, the quality of basic education was associated with both workers’ productivity and firms’ R&D processes. In a final step, we show that literacy had also a negative effect on fertility which increased with innovation. In general, our findings support the notion that the accumulation of basic human capital was crucial for the transition to modern economic growth.

中文翻译：

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人力资本和创新在经济发展中的作用：后马尔萨斯普鲁士的证据

人力资本对增长的影响涉及多种渠道。一方面，人力资本的增加通过提高生产中的劳动生产率直接影响经济增长。另一方面，人力资本是研发的重要投入，因此通过加速技术变革间接提高了劳动生产率。此外，基础教育和高等教育或在职培训等不同类型的人力资本在生产和创新活动中可能扮演不同的角色。我们将19世纪后期在普鲁士授予的有价值的专利的个人数据与县级有关扫盲，手工艺，中学教育和所得税收入的数据进行合并，以探索各种类型的人力资本，创新和收入之间的复杂关系。我们发现，第二次工业革命可以看作是人力资本作用的过渡时期。就像在上一次第一次工业革命中一样，大师级工匠所体现的“有用知识”与创新有关，特别是与独立发明家有关。与随后的二十世纪一样，基础教育的质量与工人的生产率和企业的研发过程相关。在最后一步中，我们表明，识字率也对生育力产生负面影响，随着创新的增加，识字率也随之提高。总的来说，我们的发现支持以下观点：基本人力资本的积累对于向现代经济增长的过渡至关重要。工匠大师所体现的“有用知识”与创新有关，特别是独立发明家的创新。与随后的二十世纪一样，基础教育的质量与工人的生产率和企业的研发过程相关。在最后一步，我们证明了识字率也对生育率产生了负面影响，随着创新的增加。总的来说，我们的发现支持以下观点：基本人力资本的积累对于向现代经济增长的过渡至关重要。工匠大师所体现的“有用知识”与创新有关，特别是独立发明家的创新。与随后的二十世纪一样，基础教育的质量与工人的生产率和企业的研发过程相关。在最后一步中，我们表明，识字率也对生育力产生负面影响，随着创新的增加，识字率也随之提高。总的来说，我们的发现支持以下观点：基本人力资本的积累对于向现代经济增长的过渡至关重要。