Human rights and economic growth - an econometric analysis of the rights to education and health
This analysis seeks to answer the question: Do human rights have a positive effect on economic growth and, therefore, are not only the right thing to do in normative terms but also the smart thing to do in economic terms? In the context of this working paper, we analyse the question with the point of departure in economic, social, and cultural rights, more specifically access to education and health services, including whether equal access to primary education and basic healthcare has an impact on economic growth.
MATTERS OF CONCERN is a working paper series focusing on new and emerging research on human rights across academic disciplines. It is a means for DIHR staff, visiting fellows and external researchers to make available the preliminary results of their research, work in progress and unique research contributions. Research papers are published under the responsibility of the author alone and do not represent the official view of the Danish Institute of Human Rights.
This working paper is the third in the series ‘The Economy of Human Rights’ that addresses the influence of human rights on economic development. The first working paper, published in 2016 by Sano and Marslev (2016) explored the relationship between human rights and economic development on the basis of a literature study. The second paper, published in 2017 by Koob et al. (2017), was an econometric study that found a positive impact of civil and political rights – more specifically freedom and participation rights – on economic growth.
We strive to make the pdf versions of our publications etc. accessible for screen readers. If you experience any problems, please contact Digital Editor Stine Juhl Nielsen on stni@humanrights.dk