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Identification and Social Welfare Decomposition of Human Capital Sources of Well‐being in Cameroon
Author(s) -
Tangwa Mark Wiykiynyuy,
Baye Francis Menjo,
Epo Boniface Ngah
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
african development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.654
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1467-8268
pISSN - 1017-6772
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8268.12281
Subject(s) - economics , human capital , welfare , social welfare , social capital , public economics , labour economics , economic growth , market economy , social science , sociology , political science , law
Abstract This study investigates the role of human capital on household economic well‐being and studies the social welfare of human capital along sectors of employment in Cameroon. Specifically, it (1) estimates a well‐being generating function, (2) studies the relative importance of efficiency and equity in human capital social welfare decomposition and (3) assesses the implications of employment sector‐based marginal improvements in human capital for targeting purposes in the context of social welfare maximization. The 2007 Cameroon household consumption survey, the 2SLS econometric method and a generalized Sen‐social welfare decomposition framework inform the empirical strategy. Results show that the efficiency component is more potent in accounting for social welfare than the equity component, and sectors with higher human capital shares influence social welfare more than sectors with lower human capital shares. Pilot human capital interventions, if targeted on the tertiary sector workers, would generate spillover effects to the rest of the economy in terms of social welfare maximization that mediates between equity and efficiency considerations.