We discuss existing shortfalls and inequalities in the accumulation of human capital—knowledge, skills, and health. We analyze their immediate and systemic causes, and assess the scope for public intervention. The broad policy goals should be to improve: the quality, and not just the quantity,...

We discuss existing shortfalls and inequalities in the accumulation of human capital-knowledge, skills, and health. We analyze their immediate and systemic causes, and assess the scope for public intervention. The broad policy goals should be to improve: the quality, and not just the quantity,...

The standard summary metric of education-based human capital used in macro analyses - the average number of years of schooling in a population - is based only on quantity. But ignoring schooling quality turns out to be a major omission. As recent research shows, students in different countries...