Human capital for economic development of Kazakhstan : lessons from Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper studies the importance of human capital for economic development of a country. Until now, the determinants of economic growth have been analyzed by many researchers around the world. Among the factors we may mention resource enrichment, political freedom, transparency, democracy, openness of economy, geographic location, access to sea and many others. However, probably the most important factor is human capital which determines the quality and effectiveness of how other variables are used by the country.
The paper tests if the economic growth of a country is determined by the level of education, healthcare and other factors of human capital. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are used. For qualitative analysis, such factors as oil reserves endowment, corruption perception index, and HDI and its components are compared with the economic performance of countries. For qualitative analysis, success story of South Korea in developing its human capital is studied, in particular in healthcare and education sectors.
Further, Kazakhstan’s human capital is analyzed and recommendations for improvement are given. Overall, the perspectives are bright but several policy amendments should be implemented. Korea’s example shows that the changes should be well planned ahead and should be implemented stage by stage.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction………………………………………….…………………………..1
• 1.1 Background ………………………………………………….…………...1
• 1.2 Literature review ...…………………………………...…………………..2
• 1.3 Research question ………………………………………………………...4
• 1.4 Methodology……………...........................................................................5
• 1.5 Significance of the study………………………………………...……......5
• II Theory and Hypothesis………………………………………………………….7
• 2.1 Determinants of Economic Development ...………………………….7
• 2.2 Human Capital Overview………………………..…………………...9
• 2.3 Hypothesis ...…………………………..…………………………....11
• III. Hypothesis Testing…………………………………………………...………13
• 3.1 Quantitative Analysis……………………………..…………………13
• 3.1.1 Oil reserves and Economic Development ….……………13
• 3.1.2 Corruption Perception Index and Economic Development …………………………………………………………...14
• 3.1.3 HDI components and growth…………….……………...16
• 3.2 Qualitative Analysis…………………………….………………….20
• 3.2.1 Overview of Human Capital in Korea……………….….20
• 3.2.2 Healthcare………………………………….……………21
• 3.2.3 Education……………………………………………….24
• IV. Human capital in Kazakhstan………………………………………………29
• 4.1. Kazakhstan economy overview…………………………………...29
• 4.2. Kazakhstan HDI components……………………………………..37
• 4.2.1 Healthcare…………………………………….…………38
• 4.2.2 Education……………………………………………….42
• V. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...48
• Bibliography………………………………………………………………….....51