How schooling investments facilitated the Middle East uprisings

Article written by Prieur du Plessis, editor of the Investment Postcards from Cape Town blog.The paragraphs below come courtesy of Mark Mobius, emerging markets guru and executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management.

Markus Brückner, Mark Gradstein, 4 April 2013Average income per capita is strongly correlated with more schooling, but this relationship is more complex than it appears. This column presents new research showing that a large part of the correlation is attributed to the causal effect of economic prosperity on the formation of human capital via schooling.Full Article: Income and schooling

Tom Lydon submits: Around the world, international economies are showing life again and investors are accepting a little more risk in their portfolios. But investors looking at Middle East markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been pushed away amid an uncertain economic and social outlook for the region.

Ashoka Mody, Antu Panini Murshid, 27 November 2011Recent commentary has suggested that capital inflows – long considered a positive for growth – may actually be doing more harm than good. This column presents new evidence reinforcing the conventional interpretation. It finds that volatility is the determining factor. With volatility below a threshold, an inflow of foreign capital promotes growth.

Fabrice Murtin, Martina Viarengo , 18 January 2013A workforce’s cognitive skills and ability to learn are regarded as crucial factors for countries hoping to develop and become competitive in the global knowledge economy. This column argues that many developing countries‘ basic educational attainment and learning outcomes remain wanting. Taking a look at Europe’s historical record can shed light on the developing-country context, and evidence suggests that simply expanding an ill-functioning educational system will be wasteful.

There's a massive problem in higher education. The number of people qualified to attend the world's best universities who don't get the chance to do so is growing. At the same time, the cost of attending college has risen to the point where people question its value, and student debt is skyrocketing. 

Chris Coyne Yesterday evening I participated in a panel at GMU on "Political and Economic Change in the Middle East."  Each panelist had a few minutes for comments followed by open Q&A.  My initial comments are below the fold.