Search results for "HUMAN CAPITAL"
showing 10 items of 217 documents
International database on human capital quality
2007
In this research work, we have used a methodology which enables us to obtain qualitative indicators of human capital (QIHC) for 105 countries. This methodology relies on the potential to reconsider survey results comparatively by analysing the results of countries which took part in at least two different surveys. This allowed us to build indicators of comparable data concerning the quality of human capital in numerous countries and between 1964-2005: our results represent a valuable comparison to what has been done so far.
IN SEARCH OF BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP: WHY IS THERE A LACK OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY AMONG THE BLACK POPULATION IN SOUTH AFRICA?
2012
Compared to other ethnic groups, the black population of South Africa has a low participation rate in entrepreneurship activities. The research question of this article is to explain this empirical fact. Based on twenty-four expert interviews, five patterns of explanation are presented and elaborated: a historical apartheid explanation, a financial resources explanation, a human capital explanation, a traits and mindset explanation and a social capital and network explanation. The historical apartheid explanation cannot be qualified independently of the other explanations as a distinctive explanation of its own. Although missing financial resources and shortages of human capital are the fa…
Financial development and intergenerational education mobility
2018
Using years of education as a measure of status, we study the relationship between financial development and intergenerational mobility, focusing on human capital investments boosted by financial deepening. We consider a set of indices to capture different components of the overall intergenerational education mobility. Using a sample of 39 countries, we find that financial development is related to structural mobility but not to exchange mobility. In particular, while we detect an inverted U-shaped relationship between financial development and structural mobility, we do not find any significant relationship with exchange mobility. Keywords: Intergenerational mobility, Financial development…
Human capital in Spain and its distribution by provinces (1964-2013)
2015
The regularly-updated database “Human capital in Spain and its distribution by provinces” provides information about the accumulation of human capital in Spain over the last five decades. The human capital estimates included in this database contain a wide range of information on how education levels in Spain have evolved, classified according to the level of studies completed and other human capital indicators. The database includes information that has been updated until the second trimester of 2013. It can be accessed at http://www.ivie.es/en/banco/caphum/series.php.
Two stories, one fate: age-heaping and literacy in Spain, 1877-1930
2021
This study looks at human capital in Spain during the early stages of modern economic growth. In order to do so, we have assembled a new dataset on ageheaping and literacy in Spain for both men and women between 1877 and 1930 based on six population censuses with information for 49 provinces. Our results show that age-heaping was less prevalent during the second half of the 19th century than previously thought and did not decrease until the early twentieth century. By contrast, literacy increased throughout the whole period. Interestingly, age-heaping and illiteracy rates depict similar spatial patterns which confirm the stark differences in human capital within Spain. Lastly, we raise crit…
Starting high school? On the origins of secondary education in Spain, 1857–1901
2022
AbstractThe development of modern educational systems radically altered the way knowledge and skills were transmitted. Yet, while elementary schooling rapidly expanded in late 19th and early twentieth centuries, secondary education struggled to find its way. This was also the case in Spain where, despite a growing demand, the provision of public secondary education during the second half of the 19th century was rather limited. As a result, private education, and especially that promoted by the Church, rushed to fill in the gap. Using a new database with municipal-level data, we examine what drove the expansion of private schools. As expected, demand-pull factors were critical. Still, the in…
Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth
2016
Les Documents de Travail de l'IREDU, n°2016-1; This paper tests for heterogeneous effects of cognitive skills on economic growth across countries. Using a new extended dataset on cognitive skills and controlling for potential endogeneity, we find that the magnitude of the effect is about 60 per cent higher for low-income countries compared to high-income countries, and it more than doubles when low TFP countries are compared to high TFP countries. There are also marked differences across geographic regions. Using data on the share of the population with advanced and minimum skill levels, our results also indicate that high-income countries should focus on increasing the number of high skill…
Total factor productivity measurement and human capital in OECD countries
1999
Abstract This paper analyses the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) evolution in OECD countries by breaking down productivity gains into technical change and efficiency change. To avoid biases, Malmquist indices of productivity, including human capital, are estimated. The results indicate that, in fact, the inclusion of human capital has a significant effect on the accurate measurement of TFP.
Business owners, employees, and firm performance
2018
The novel Finnish Longitudinal OWNer-Employer-Employee (FLOWN) database was used to analyze how the characteristics of owners and employees relate to firm performance as determined by labor productivity, survival, and employment growth. Focusing on the role of the employment history, the results show that previous experience in a high-productivity firm strongly predicts high productivity and probability of survival for the entrepreneur’s new firm. This can be interpreted as evidence of knowledge spillovers through labor mobility of both the owners and the employees. The results also show that the owner’s high education in a technical field is positively related to firm performance. Differen…
Changing returns to education in Spain during the 1980s
1998
We present evidence on returns to education for Spanish employees during the 1980s, a period of remarkable structural transformations. The results show a declining payoff to education between 1981 and 1991 for lower and intermediate educational levels, whereas higher education does not show a reduction in its return. At the same time, earnings inequality by gender declined noticeably as educational attainment expanded. [JEL I21, J31]