Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPAN'S GROWTH AND EDUCATION 1963 > CHAPTER

CHAPTER . CONTRIBUTIONS OF EDUCATION TO ECONOMIC GROWTH

It is not necessary here to-review the important role of education in achieving the social and cultural development of a country. Recently, however, special attention has been directed to the relation between educational and economic developments.

It is becoming the deep conviction of many newly independent countries striving for rapid development hut Asia and Africa, that the expansion and raising of the level of education is the prerequisite basis of socio-economic development

Meanwhile, in the industrially developed countries, such human factors as scientific creativeness, technological talents, laborer's skill and the abilities to use completely all available resources; have been recognized as affecting economic development as well as physical capital and the labor force. The development of these factors, which might be identified as 'human resources', will depend largely on the quantitative and qualitative development of education. It is necessary for future economic growth to increase the total investment in the development of all available national resources. Education directed to the development of 'human resources', should be considered as one of the most important forms of investments.

Under these circumstances, education should be looked upon not as a mere item of consumption but as an investment in economic growth. Education is an indispensable factor in the full utilization of the fruits of this period of rapid acceleration of technological innovation. In this context, the viewpoint of regarding education as an investment should be more emphasized.

In this chapter, the relation between education as an investment and economic growth will be observed from the above mentioned point of view. (As for figures used in this chapter, refer to Appendix l.)