IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0315166.html

Human capital and regional disparities: Advancing accounting frameworks with education, health, and population dynamics

Author

Listed:
  • Shuning Chen
  • Xiangdan Piao
  • Jun Xie
  • Shunsuke Managi

Abstract

This study advances the inclusive wealth accounting of human capital (HC) to improve global research on the valuation of HC for sustainability. By innovatively integrating complex population dynamics, including schooling and labor force participation, and using a net present value (NPV) valuation method aligned with capital budgeting principles, we quantitatively measure HC in 165 countries. As a methodological advancement, we use a unified framework that incorporates education, health and economic participation via the measurement of life expectancy in different life stages to inform sustainable development investments. Our analysis from 1990 to 2020 reveals significant differences in HC development across countries. While education is strongly correlated with GDP growth, disparities in health and economic participation are critical barriers to long-term HC accumulation. Our findings argue for a comprehensive policy approach that goes beyond investing in education for its financial benefits and includes substantial improvements in health and economic opportunities to promote more equitable HC growth. We emphasize the need to incorporate complex population dynamics into HC assessments to better understand and strengthen the interdependencies between these critical factors, with the aim of reducing global development gaps.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuning Chen & Xiangdan Piao & Jun Xie & Shunsuke Managi, 2025. "Human capital and regional disparities: Advancing accounting frameworks with education, health, and population dynamics," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(3), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0315166
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315166
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315166&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0315166?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Aart Kraay, 2019. "The World Bank Human Capital Index: A Guide," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 34(1), pages 1-33.
    3. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2018. "Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5), pages 445-458, September.
    4. Dasgupta,Partha, 2024. "The Economics of Biodiversity," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781009494335, January.
    5. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    6. Dasgupta,Partha, 2024. "The Economics of Biodiversity," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781009494304, January.
    7. Peter J. Klenow & Andrés Rodríguez-Clare, 1997. "The Neoclassical Revival in Growth Economics: Has It Gone Too Far?," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1997, Volume 12, pages 73-114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. World Bank, 2022. "Human Capital Project," World Bank Publications - Reports 37185, The World Bank Group.
    9. Card, David, 1999. "The causal effect of education on earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 30, pages 1801-1863, Elsevier.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Caselli, Francesco & Ciccone, Antonio, 2013. "The contribution of schooling in development accounting: Results from a nonparametric upper bound," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 199-211.
    2. ?gel de la Fuente, "undated". "Convergence Across Countries And Regions: Theory And Empirics," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 447.00, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    3. Zhang, Xiaobei & Wang, Xiaojun, 2021. "Measures of human capital and the mechanics of economic growth," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Joëlle Noailly & Daniël Waagmeester & Bas Jacobs & Marieke Rensman & Dinand Webbink, 2005. "Scarcity of science and engineering students in the Netherlands," CPB Document 92, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Adriana Di Liberto, 2007. "Convergence and Divergence in Neoclassical Growth Models with Human Capital," Economia politica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 289-322.
    6. Feyrer James D, 2008. "Convergence by Parts," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-35, July.
    7. Caselli, Francesco, 2005. "Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 679-741, Elsevier.
    8. Chen, Binkai & Lin, Justin Yifu, 2021. "Development strategy, resource misallocation and economic performance," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 612-634.
    9. Ashvin Ahuja & Thammarak Moenjak, 2002. "Economic Arrangements and Long-Term Growth in Thailand," Working Papers 2002-05, Monetary Policy Group, Bank of Thailand.
    10. David N. Weil, 2005. "Accounting for the Effect of Health on Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 11455, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Erich Gundlach, 2005. "Solow vs. Solow: Notes on Identification and Interpretation in the Empirics of Growth and Development," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(3), pages 541-556, October.
    12. Antonio Ciccone & Giovanni Peri, "undated". "Human Capital and Externalities in Cities," Working Papers 172, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    13. Gang Liu & Barbara M. Fraumeni, 2020. "A Brief Introduction to Human Capital Measures," NBER Working Papers 27561, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Peter E. Robertson, 2000. "Diminished Returns? Growth and Investment in East Asia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 76(235), pages 343-353, December.
    15. Michael Peneder & Karl Aiginger & Gernot Hutschenreiter & Markus Marterbauer, 2001. "Structural Change and Economic Growth," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 20668, October.
    16. Voxi Heinrich S Amavilah & Richard T. Newcomb, 2004. "Economic Growth and the Financial Economics of Capital Accumulation under Shifting Technological Change," GE, Growth, Math methods 0404001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Ian W. McLean & Alan M. Taylor, 2001. "Australian Growth: A California Perspective," NBER Working Papers 8408, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Chad Turner & Robert Tamura & Sean Mulholland, 2013. "How important are human capital, physical capital and total factor productivity for determining state economic growth in the United States, 1840–2000?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 319-371, December.
    19. Ryo Horii & Akiomi Kitagawa & Koichi Futagami, 2008. "Availability Of Higher Education And Long‐Term Economic Growth," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 156-177, June.
    20. Klenow, Peter J. & Rodriguez-Clare, Andres, 2005. "Externalities and Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 817-861, Elsevier.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0315166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.