DETERMINANTS OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Based on the annual Human Development Report of the UNDP, this paper finds that the main determinants of the level of human resource development measured by the HDI for various economies are usually the level of per capita income, its rate of growth, expenditure on military, and the state of income distribution. It is found that even as the HDI is positively correlated with the GDP, the relationship tends to weaken at higher income levels, improvement in the HDI tends to lag behind income growth, and the rise in military expenditure works against the development of human resources. The background of the study is that of developing economies facing serious problems of poverty alleviation. Attention is also paid to the position of Muslim countries.

JEL classification: O15, O50

Keywords: Human resource development, Human Development Index, Poverty alleviation