Human Capital: “Travel Broadens the Mind”

Kheng, Veasna and Pan, Lei and Fan, Xiaodong (2025): Human Capital: “Travel Broadens the Mind”.

Abstract

This paper adopts an economic framework to examine the impact of interna- tional travel on human capital development. Using a fixed-effects instrumental variable estimator as the primary analytical approach, the study investigates a panel dataset covering 64 countries from 1995 to 2019. The findings reveal that international travel, measured through tourism openness, has a significant positive effect on human capital. These results underscore the importance of global human mobility—encompassing migration, international educational exchange, and tourism—in fostering the development and dissemination of knowledge, culture, and technology.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: travel; human capital development; economic growth and development
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C23 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General

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