Economic growth and formal learning in the long run

The article analyzes figures on income (GDP per capita) and human learning (literacy and formal education) spanning for almost two centuries, from 1820 to 1990. It does so for a select group of countries (19), that is nowadays rich both in terms of income and education, for which data are available with a sufficient degree of reliability. The patterns of income and human learning are studied and some regularities are single out in terms of common and separate patterns of the 19th and the 20th century. They describe the behavior of those countries that have experienced in the long run the process of modern economic growth in the sense of Kuznets. The 19th century shows a prevalent process of divergence in terms of income, while most of the sample caught up with full or almost full rates in literacy and primary education enrollment. The 20th century on the other hand - given the way the sample is cut - shows a dominant process of income convergence and a full or almost full rate in secondary education enrollment, while the 21st century seems to pave the way for similar patterns in tertiary education.