The role of education in stimulating economic development in the framework of Europe 2020 Strategy : evidence from south-eastern Europe

Abstract

A new model of economic development focused on the encouragement of smart, inclusive and sustainable economic growth is the core of the Europe 2020 strategy. Education is widely acknowledged as being a key factor leading to economic growth and economic development, in the long term. But the impact of different kind of achievements in education on growth has little empirical evidence, especially when examining the South-Eastern European countries.

This paper analyses the role played by different types of educational achievements, aggregated at the macroeconomic level, beside a set of other potential socio-economic drivers, on the economic growth and quality of life, in the South Eastern Europe, based on the Eurostat panel dataset. A number of panel data regression models using the GMM and FGLS estimators allow answering our research questions.

Our empirical results indicate what policy measures are the most effective to target both the economic growth and quality of life.