Skip to main content
Log in

The measurement of human capital: a multivariate macro-approach

  • Published:
Quality & Quantity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We examine the human capital status of 123 countries by employing factor analysis on various national human capital indicators for the period 2000–2008 to construct two new measures. The first measure is based on advanced human capital, while the second is based on basic human capital. Our measures differ substantially from indicators used in previous studies on human capital and also lead to different rankings of countries. As rankings are not that informative without further information, we analyzed the distance between each country and the sample mean. Differences between countries are much more pronounced for our measure on advanced human capital than for our measure on basic human capital. Using cluster analysis, we classified the countries in four homogenous groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altinok N., Murseli H.: International database on human capital quality. Econ. Lett. 96(2), 237–244 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barro R., Lee J.: International data on educational attainment, up-dates and implications. Oxf. Econ. Pap. 53, 541–563 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R., Lee, J.: A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010. NBER Working Paper 15902 (2010)

  • Benhabib J., Spiegel M.: The role of human capital in economic development evidence from aggregate cross-country data. J. Monet. Econ. 34(2), 143–173 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castello-Climent A.: On the distribution of education and democracy. J. Dev. Econ. 87, 179–190 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen D., Soto M.: Growth and human capital: good data, good results. J. Econ. Growth 12(1), 51–76 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dempster A., Laird N., Rubin D.: Maximum likelihood from incomplete data via the EM algorithm. J. R. Stat. Soc. B 39, 1–38 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Green W.: Econometric Analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hair J., Anderson R., Tatham R., Black W.: Multivariate Data Analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris C., Kaiser H.: Oblique factor analytic solutions by orthogonal transformation. Psychometrika 29, 347–362 (1964)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser H.: A second generation little jiffy. Pshychometrika 35, 401–415 (1970)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser H., Dickman K.: Analytic determination of common factors. Am. Psychol. 14, 425 (1959)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krueger A., Lindahl M.: Education for growth: why and for whom?. J. Econ. Lit. 39(4), 1101–1136 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lattin J., Carrol D., Green P.: Analyzing Multivariate Data. Duxbury Press, Belmont (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mankiw G., Romer D., Weil D.: A contribution to the empirics of economic growth. Q. J. Econ. 107(2), 407–437 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD.: The Well-Being of Nations: The Role of Human and Social Capital. OECD, Paris (2001)

  • Punj G., Stewart J.: Cluster analysis in marketing research: review and suggestions for application. J. Mark. Res. 20, 134–148 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stroombergen, A., Rose, D., Nana, G.: Review of the Statistical Measurement of Human Capital. Statistics New Zealand, Wellington (2002)

  • Suleman, A., Suleman, F.: Ranking by competence using a fuzzy approach. Qual. Quant. (forthcoming)

  • Van Loo J., Semeijn J.: Defining and measuring competencies: an application to graduate surveys. Qual. Quant. 38, 331–349 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wansbeek T.J., Meijer E.: Measurement Error and Latent Variables in Econometrics. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodhall M.: Earnings and education. In: Psacharopoulos, G. (eds) Economics of Education, Research and Studies, Pergamon Press, New York (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank.: World Bank Development Indicators. World Bank, Washington, DC (2009)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeroen Klomp.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Klomp, J. The measurement of human capital: a multivariate macro-approach. Qual Quant 47, 121–136 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9507-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9507-0

Keywords

Navigation