EuroEconomica, Vol 38, No 2 (2019)

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between age structure and economic growth by incorporating human capital development in the context of the two leading economies in Africa (Nigeria and South Africa) spanning the period of 1991 and 2017 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The empirical result indicates that age structure stimulates economic growth in both countries while human capital development impedes economic growth in Nigeria but improves economic growth in South Africa. Further, the result that interaction of age structure and human capital development hinders economic growth in Nigeria whereas positively influence economic growth in South Africa. Based on this result, the study therefore concluded that working age share alone cannot by itself enhance economic growth, but has to be supported by improved human capital investment. It is therefore, recommended that government of both countries should prioritize education at all levels and identify skills and competence that could make such education functional and productive.