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HUMAN CAPITAL MEASUREMENT: A SURVEY
Author(s) -
Folloni Giuseppe,
Vittadini Giorgio
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of economic surveys
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.657
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1467-6419
pISSN - 0950-0804
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00614.x
Subject(s) - economics , human capital , section (typography) , econometrics , formative assessment , stock (firearms) , investment (military) , rational expectations , macroeconomics , mathematics , statistics , economic growth , computer science , engineering , political science , mechanical engineering , politics , law , operating system
After a short history of the concept of human capital (henceforth HC) in economic thought (Section 1), this study presents the two main methods for estimating the value of the stock of HC – the retrospective and prospective one – with a review of the models proposed (Section 2). These methods are linked both to the theory of HC investment as a rational choice (Section 3), the literature analysing the contribution of HC investment to economic growth and the HC estimating method through educational attainment (Section 4). The more recent literature on HC as a latent variable is also assessed (Section 5) and a new method of estimation where HC is seen both as an unknown function of formative indicators and as a ‘latent effect’ underlying earned income is proposed (Section 6). Section 7 concludes.