The Impact of Human Capital on the Export of Chemical and Fundamental Metal Products in Iran: Evidence from Industry Subdivisions

With regard to the importance and high proportion of the export of chemical and fundamental metal products in the export basket of Iranian industrial products and their impact on economic growth, it is essential that effective factors on the export of such products be investigated. This paper investigates the impact of human capital on the export of chemical and fundamental metals products in Iran using a panel data set of Iranian 4-digit ISIC manufacturing industries over the period 2000-2007.The results of the study show that human capital and manufacturing value added have positive and significant effects on the chemical export and fundamental metal products. In addition, the domestic demand of manufacturing goods has a negative and significant effect on the export of these products. In contrast, the price indices such as nominal exchange rate and price index of import goods, show no significant effects. Therefore, any effort to expand the higher education is highly recommended.