ABSTRACT
Becker called the twentieth century the Age o f Human Capital, since that is when development economists recognized a country's success in developing and utilizing the skills, knowledge, health, and habits o f its population was the primary determinant o f its standard o f living. Many studies have shown a close association between growth in per capita incomes since 1960 and human capital measures (e.g., the proportion o f the population with elementary school, high school, and higher education, life expectancy, initial per capita incomes in I960, investments in physical capital). In particular, although on average, developing countries grew a little less rapidly than richer ones, poorer nations with more educated and healthier populations managed to grow faster than the average.1 Human capital (education, on-the-job and other training and health) has been found to comprise about 80 percent o f the capital or wealth in the United States and other advanced countries. Hence, inadequate investment in human capital formation has serious consequences: future productivity losses in agriculture and industry, persistent high fertility, high infant and maternal mortality (especially given low female education levels).2 This Chapter will consider the human capital achievements o f the Gulf States: specifically the trends in various quantitative and qualitative indicators of education and health care.
