MANAGING NATION BUILDING THROUGH HUMAN CAPITAL ACCUMULATION: ASEAN PERSPECTIVE

摘要

This paper aims to analyse how the ASEAN-5 countries manage nation-building through human capital accumulation. This quantitative study analysed the macroeconomic and human capital data of 5 ASEAN countries from 1970 to 2016. The independent variables incorporated in this study are physical capital, population growth, human capital and trade openness. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Mankiw, Romer and Weil's endogenous Human Capital Augmented Solow model of economic growth. Ordinary Least Squares estimation technique was employed and the empirical results of this study deduce that human capital has a significant positive impact on economic growth in Malaysia and Singapore. Physical capital was found to have a significant positive impact on economic growth in Indonesia and Thailand In Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, it is demonstrated that population growth has a significant negative impact on economic growth, while trade openness is inferred to have a significant positive impact on economic growth only in Malaysia.