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Quantifying Quantitative Literacy: Age Heaping and the History of Human Capital

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Author Info
Brian A'Hearn
Jörg Baten
Dorothee Crayen

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Abstract

Age data frequently display excess frequencies at round or attractive ages, such as even numbers and multiples of five. This phenomenon of age heaping has been viewed as a problem in previous research, especially in demography and epidemiology. We see it as an opportunity and propose its use as a measure of human capital that can yield comparable estimates across a wide range of historical contexts. A simulation study yields methodological guidelines for measuring and interpreting differences in age heaping, while analysis of contemporary and historical datasets demonstrates the existence of a robust correlation between age heaping and literacy at both the individual and aggregate level. To illustrate the method, we generate estimates of human capital in Europe over the very long run, which support the hypothesis of a major increase in human capital preceding the industrial revolution.

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Paper provided by Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in its series Economics Working Papers with number 996.

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Date of creation: Nov 2006
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Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:996

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Related research
Keywords: Human Capital; Age Heaping; Growth; Industrial Revolution; Numeracy;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth - - - General, International, or Comparative

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Jörg Baten & Dorothee Crayen, 2008. "Global Trends in Numeracy 1820-1949 and its Implications for Long-Run Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Eric A. Hanushek & Dennis D. Kimko, 2000. "Schooling, Labor-Force Quality, and the Growth of Nations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1184-1208, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Galor, Oded & Weil, David, 1998. "Population, Technology and Growth: From the Malthusian Regime to the Demographic Transition," CEPR Discussion Papers 1981, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Long, Jason, 2005. "Rural-Urban Migration and Socioeconomic Mobility in Victorian Britain," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(01), pages 1-35, March. [Downloadable!]
  7. Richard J. Murnane & John B. Willett & Frank Levy, 1995. "The Growing Importance of Cognitive Skills in Wage Determination," NBER Working Papers 5076, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Brian A'Hearn & Jörg Baten & Dorothee Crayen, 2006. "Quantifying Quantitative Literacy: Age Heaping and the History of Human Capital," Economics Working Papers 996, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Finnie, Ross & Meng, Ronald, 2001. "Cognitive Skills and the Youth Labour Market," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 8(10), pages 675-79, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Mankiw, N Gregory & Romer, David & Weil, David N, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(2), pages 407-37, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Mark Bils & Peter J. Klenow, 2000. "Does Schooling Cause Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1160-1183, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Levine, Ross & Renelt, David, 1992. "A Sensitivity Analysis of Cross-Country Growth Regressions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 942-63, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Derek A. Neal & William R. Johnson, 1995. "The Role of Pre-Market Factors in Black-White Wage Differences," NBER Working Papers 5124, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2003. "Schooling, Literacy, Numeracy and Labour Market Success," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 79(245), pages 165-181, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Murphy, Kevin M & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1991. "The Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(2), pages 503-30, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Matteo Cervellati & Uwe Sunde, 2005. "Human Capital Formation, Life Expectancy, and the Process of Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1653-1672, December. [Downloadable!]
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  18. Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M & Tamura, Robert, 1990. "Human Capital, Fertility, and Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages S12-37, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jan de Dreu & Jacob Bikker, 2009. "Pension fund sophistication and investment policy," DNB Working Papers 211, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Mueller, Normann, 2007. "(Mis-)Understanding Education Externalities," MPRA Paper 5331, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2007. [Downloadable!]
  3. A'Hearn, Brian & Baten, Jörg & Crayen, Dorothee, 2009. "Quantifying Quantitative Literacy: Age Heaping and the History of Human Capital," CEPR Discussion Papers 7277, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Jörg Baten & Dorothee Crayen & Joachim Voth, 2007. "Poor, Hungry and Stupid: Numeracy and the Impact of High Food Prices in Industrializing Britain, 1780-1850," Economics Working Papers 1120, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jan 2008. [Downloadable!]
  5. Jörg Baten & Dorothee Crayen, 2008. "Global Trends in Numeracy 1820-1949 and its Implications for Long-Run Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  6. Mueller, Normann, 2007. "(Mis-)Understanding Education Externalities," MPRA Paper 6307, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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