Indeed, there is a wide consensus on the fact that richer countries enjoy better social conditions. Therefore education and physical status could be among the determinants of growth in less developed countries. The issue of this paper is indeed the existence of this reverse causation. The paper tests this hypothesis through a cross-country investigation. It analyses the relations among the per-capita income growth rate, the education level and the physical status of people, in a sample of 43 less developed countries.
Physical status is measured by infant rate mortality and education by average years of schooling.
Their interrelated effect on growth is tested by a simple human capital index. The empirical analysis finds that improving both education and infant mortality have a positive impact on growth. The absence of any statistical significative correlation between per-capita calories availability and national growth prospects suggest the existence of a wide inequality in food distribution. These results suggest that in less developed countries there is room to improve the contitions of the poorests and the national growth.