A new macroeconomic measure of human capital with strong empirical links to productivity

Jarmila Botev, Balázs Égert, Zuzana Smidova, David Turner

This paper calculates new measures of human capital. Contrary to the existing literature, they are based on realistic rates of return to education, which are allowed to vary substantially across countries and to some extent over time. The new measures perform well in regression analysis explaining productivity across OECD countries and over time. In OECD samples, coefficient estimates are broadly consistent with the private returns underlying the construction of the new measures of human capital. In a wider sample of countries, most estimates imply additional positive social returns.

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Year of publication:	2019
Authors:	Botev, Jarmila ; Égert, Balázs ; Smidova, Zuzana ; Turner, David
Publisher:	Paris, France : OECD
Subject:	human capital \| returns to education \| mean years of schooling \| OECD \| productivity \| Humankapital \| Human capital \| Bildungsertrag \| Returns to education \| Schätzung \| Estimation \| OECD-Staaten \| OECD countries \| Produktivität \| Productivity \| Bildungsinvestition \| Human capital investment \| Bildungsniveau \| Educational achievement