How important are human resources in economic growth?

Researchers have widely debated the relationship between human resources and economic growth. There is considerable quantitative evidence of the importance of human resources in the competitiveness of organizations however, despite the qualitative evidence of the importance of human resources in countries' economic growth, there is little quantitative evidence. Issues related to the ethics workforce have been somehow underestimated in their relationship to national income and economic growth. This article presents such quantitative evidence. The quality of human resources in three distinct areas, namely personal ethics, work ethics and instruction, are related to national income, proving to be an important source of countries' economic growth. The importance of ethics in firms is unquestionable and, despite being an individual characteristic of the workforce, it is reflected in collective behavior which, in turn, translates directly into trust, efficiency, and productivity. This research paper presents a cross-section of 33 countries over a five-year period that establishes solid empirical evidence of the importance of these specific characteristics of human resources for countries' national income and growth.