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Measuring human capital in middle income countries

Author

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  • Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli
  • Torre, Iván
Abstract
This paper develops an indicator that measures the level of human capital to address the specific education and health challenges faced by middle income countries. We apply this indicator to countries in Europe and Central Asia, where productive employment requires skills that are more prevalent among higher education graduates, and where good health is associated to low levels of adult health risk factors. The Europe and Central Asia Human Capital Index (ECA-HCI) extends the World Bank's Human Capital Index by adding a measure of quality-adjusted years of higher education to the original education component, and it includes the prevalence of three adult health risk factors—obesity, smoking, and heavy drinking—as an additional proxy for latent health status. The results show that children born today in the average country in Europe and Central Asia will be almost half as productive as they would have had they reached the benchmark of complete education and full health. Countries with good basic education outcomes do not necessarily have good higher education outcomes, and high prevalence of adult health risk factors can offset good education indicators. This extension of the Human Capital Index could also be useful for assessing the state of human capital in middle-income countries in general.

Suggested Citation

  • Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Torre, Iván, 2022. "Measuring human capital in middle income countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 1036-1067.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:50:y:2022:i:4:p:1036-1067
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2022.05.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Barbara Dañska-Borsiak, 2023. "Human capital convergence in European NUTS 2 regions," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 18(2), pages 367-392, June.
    3. Qiong Xu & Xin Li & Fei Guo, 2023. "Digital transformation and environmental performance: Evidence from Chinese resource‐based enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1816-1840, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital; Education; Health; Europe and Central Asia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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