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Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
Human capital, schooling and health
1Yale University, Box 208269, New Haven, CT 06520-8269, USA. paul.schultz@yale.edu
Economics and Human Biology
|October 7, 2004
Summary
Investing in child nutrition, adult health, and schooling boosts economic growth and reduces poverty. Accurate estimation of human capital returns requires addressing data and analytical limitations for reliable policy interventions.
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Development Studies
- Human Capital Theory
Background:
- Economic growth and poverty reduction are linked to human capital development.
- Previous estimates of human capital investment returns face data and analytical challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review challenges in estimating human capital's economic returns.
- To summarize empirical evidence and propose solutions for methodological limitations.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing research on human capital and productivity.
- Discussion of statistical estimation problems, including omitted variables and measurement errors.
- Analysis of functional relationships between human capital and wages.
Main Results:
- Human capital investments (nutrition, health, schooling) are associated with productivity gains.
- Methodological issues like omitted variables and measurement errors can bias return estimates.
- Social experiments are crucial for assessing policy impacts on human capital investment.
Conclusions:
- Accurate measurement of human capital is vital for understanding its economic impact.
- Addressing biases in statistical estimation is necessary for reliable policy guidance.
- Further research and improved data/methods are needed to refine estimates of human capital returns.
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