Investigating the impact of human capital on labor productivity in Iran's agricultural sector

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
MohammadHossein Zhoghipour 1
Heydar Gholizadeh 2
1 MSc in Economics, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Extension, Communication and Rural Development, University of Zanjan, Iran.
10.30470/jrdes.2024.712140
Abstract
Improving productivity is the key word for realizing economic growth and development, and labor productivity has a direct relationship with the quality and standards of living. Human capital as a production input affects the labor quality, as a production input, and increases his knowledge and skills. So, improving human capital is expected to improve productivity. Obviously, such a role is of particular importance due to the severe limitation of resources in Iran's agricultural sector. This study investigated the impact of human capital on labor productivity in Iran’s agricultural sector in 1967-2017, using the autoregression distributed lag model (ARDL). The results showed that labor productivity in the short run is positively and significantly affected by a lag of dependent variable, physical capital with two lags, human capital, knowledge and technology, and natural resources. The impact of human capital in the long run is also accepted. So a one percent increase in the human capital index causes the labor productivity in the agricultural sector to increase by 0.82 percent, equivalent to 279.6 thousand rials. The impact of other independent variables, including physical capital, knowledge and technology, and natural resources, on labor productivity in the agricultural sector was evaluated as positive and significant. Also, the effect of dummy variables of revolution and war, and drought on labor productivity was evaluated to be negative. In general, due to the increasing limitation in access to physical and natural inputs, investing in human capital is a high priority in achieving economic growth goals
Keywords
human capital
productivity
agriculture
ARDL
مرکز پژوهش‌های مجلس شورای اسلامی. 1389. قانون افزایش بهره‌وری بخش کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی. قابل‌دسترس در: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/782387
شاه‌آبادی، ا. و امیری، ب. 1390. تأثیر اقتصاد دانش‌محور بر بهره‌وری نیروی کار کشورهای درحال‌توسعه. مطالعات و سیاست‌های اقتصادی، 4 (1):111-130.
کمیجانی، ا.، پاداش، ح. و صادقین، ع. 1391. تحلیل راهبردی براثر سرمایه انسانی در رشد بهره‌وری نیروی کار. فصلنامه علمی راهبرد اقتصادی، 1 (3): 7-36.
سازمان هواشناسی کشور.1399. بخش مرکز ملی پایش و هشدار خشک‌سالی. قابل‌دسترس در: https://www.irimo.ir/far/index.php
سازمان تحقیقات، آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی.1399. قابل‌دسترس در: http://www.areeo.ac.ir/fa.
دیزجی، م. و کتاب‌فروش بدری، آ. 1398. بررسی اثر سرمایه انسانی و بهره‌وری نیروی کار بر مصرف انرژی در بخش‌های مختلف اقتصاد ایران. نشریه پژوهش مدیریت بهره‌وری، 13 (49): 169-195.
سازمان برنامه‌وبودجه کشور.1399. قابل‌دسترس در: https://www.mporg.ir/home.
بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ایران.1399. بانک اطلاعات سری‌های زمانی اقتصادی، قابل‌دسترس در: https://tsd.cbi.ir/Display/Content.aspx
Afrooz, A., Rahim, K. B. A., Noor, Z. B. M., & Chin, L. (2010). Human capital and labor productivity in food industries of Iran. International Journal of Economics and Finance. 2(4), 47-51.
Becker, G. S. (1962). Investment in human capital: A theoretical analysis. Journal of political economy, 70(5, Part 2), 9-49.
Becker, G.S. (2002). Human capital. Paper given at the Univ. of Montevideo. Montevideo, Rep. 2.
Baharin, R., Syah Aji, R. H., Yussof, I., & Mohd Saukani, N. (2020). Impact of human resource investment on labor productivity in Indonesia. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 13(1), 139-164.
Brown, R. L., Durbin, J., & Evans, J. M. (1975). Techniques for testing the constancy of regression relationships over time. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology, 37(2), 149-163.
Cinnirella, F., & Streb, J. (2017). The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia. Journal of economic growth, 22, 193-227.
Gillies, D. (2017). Human capital theory in education. Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory (pp. 1–5).
Mankiw, N. G. (2017). Principles of economics. Cengage Learning.
Ouattara, B. (2006). Aid, debt and fiscal policies in Senegal. Journal of International Development: The Journal of the Development Studies Association, 18(8), 1105-1122.
Penda, S. T. (2012). Human capital development for agricultural business in Nigeria. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. 15(1030-2016-82832), 89-91.
Pahlavani, M., Wilson, E., & Worthington, A. C. (2005). Trade-GDP nexus in Iran: An application of the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. Faculty of Commerce Papers, University of Wollongong, pp. 1-23.
Pesaran, M. H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R. J. (2001). Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. Journal of applied econometrics, 16(3), 289-326.
Rahman, P. M. M., Matsui, N., Ikemoto, Y., Rahman, M., Matsui, N., & Ikemoto, Y. (2013). Poverty and human capital: literacy and education. Dynamics of poverty in rural Bangladesh, 141-150.
Schwerdt, G., Wiederhold, S., & Murray, T. S. (2020). Literacy and growth: New evidence from PIAAC.
Schultz, T. W. (1960). Capital formation by education. Journal of political economy. 68(6), 571-583.
Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital. The American economic review. 51(1), 1-17.
Thirtle, C., Lin, L., & Piesse, J. (2003). The impact of research-led agricultural productivity growth on poverty reduction in Africa, Asia and Latin America. World Development, 31(12), 1959-1975.
Zaika, S., & Gridin, O. (2020). Human capital development in the agricultural economy sector. Technology Audit and Production Reserves. 1(4), 51.

  • Receive Date 07 December 2023
  • Revise Date 09 February 2024
  • Accept Date 18 March 2024
  • Publish Date 21 May 2024