Is there a link between a Country's GDP per capita and it's Literacy Rate?

Question

If so, What? Does a high GDP cause a high Literacy Rate and vice versa, or is a Countries Literacy rate dependant on another factor, if so, What?

Answer 1

Yes, there is likely a link between a country's GDP per capita and it's literacy rate. However, a high GDP does not cause a high literacy rate. A high literacy rate leads to a high GDP. Here is why.

A higher literacy rate generally means that the country is more educated. A more educated society leads to more technological advances which help productivity, one of the driving forces behind a high GDP. Without technological advances, the economy will stagnate, and growth will disappear, which will eventually cause GDP per capita to decline.

So yes, there is a link between the two. However, this factor is not the most important in determining a high GDP. Others such as property rights that protect the intellectual and personal property of entrepreneurs is very important, as places that have no property rights generally do not provide an incentive for individuals to develop new technologies. Also important is a stable government, as property rights cannot be protected if the government is easily toppled. That is why the countries with the highest GDP per capita are the ones with stable governments, property rights, and high literacy rates.

Answer 2

Without studying for many hours and days, I sampled a few countries per capita GDP and literacy. In the Philippines, the literacy rate was 96.3 in 2005. In that same year the GDP per capita was $1040.

So the preliminary answer to your question is counter intuitive - I don't think they are inherently linked. My guess is that high literacy is a function of the political, religious, or social institutions - not exclusively the economic.

Answer 3

from what i read, teh real relationship is made by the level of freedom, economic freedom. the more free a country is the greater the economic growth and thus the gdp, because more business are located there, greenfield or brownfield. if the gdp is high, that means people can invest in education. and education itself leads in time to a greater gdp