This paper offers a selective survey of the more recent contributions on the theoretical and empirical analysis of human capital and growth. Our aim is to provide the necessary link between the theory on growth and human capital and the existing empirical applications. An overview of this literature shows that from the very beginning of the resurgence of interest in growth theory, models have focused on the role of human capital in explaining exogenous or endogenous growth mechanisms and convergence/divergence hypothesis. Conversely, the recent debate has increasingly focused on identifying the specific channels through which human capital may directly or indirectly influence growth. Despite the plethora of studies on this field, a consensus on the importance of human capital on growth processes has yet to be reached and the debate is still intense.