Human Capital and Social Mobility in Low- and Middle-income Countries

Human Capital and Social Mobility in Low- and Middle-income Countries
Author: Jere R. Behrman
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN: 9789292567217

Parental human capital and endowments may affect children's human capital, which in turn may affect children's earning and occupations and thus affect social mobility. This paper focuses on what we know about these possible links in low- and middle-income countries. It starts with definitions of human capital and endowments and simple frameworks for guiding the summary of what we know and do not know about these links in low- and middle-income countries. It discusses determinants of children’s human capital in the form of cognitive skills, socioemotional skills and health, which pertain directly to some indicators of social mobility; reviews estimates of the impacts of these forms of human capital, which pertain to some other indicators of social mobility, such as incomes and earnings; and concludes with a summary suggesting some positive impacts of parental human capital and endowments on social mobility in low- and middle-income countries and a discussion of gaps in the literature pertaining to both data and methodology.

Parental Investments and Children's Human Capital in Low-to-Middle-Income Countries

Parental Investments and Children's Human Capital in Low-to-Middle-Income Countries
Author: Jere R. Behrman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2022-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1009336185

This Element reviews what we know about parental investments and children's human capital in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs). First, it presents definitions and a simple analytical framework; then discusses determinants of children's human capital in the form of cognitive skills, socioemotional skills and physical and mental health; then reviews estimates of impacts of these forms of human capital; next considers the implications of such estimates for inequality and poverty; and concludes with a summary suggesting some positive impacts of parental investments on children's human capital in LMICs and a discussion of gaps in the literature pertaining to both data and methodology. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Social Mobility in Developing Countries

Social Mobility in Developing Countries
Author: Vegard Iversen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2022-01-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0192896857

Social mobility is the hope of economic development and the mantra of a good society. There are disagreements about what constitutes social mobility, but there is broad agreement that people should have roughly equal chances of success regardless of their economic status at birth. Concerns about rising inequality have engendered a renewed interest in social mobility--especially in the developing world. However, efforts to construct the databases and meet the standards required for conventional analyses of social mobility are at a preliminary stage and need to be complemented by innovative, conceptual, and methodological advances. If forms of mobility have slowed in the West, then we might be entering an age of rigid stratification with defined boundaries between the always-haves and the never-haves-which does not augur well for social stability. Social mobility research is ongoing, with substantive findings in different disciplines--typically with researchers in isolation from each other. A key contribution of this book is the pulling together of the emerging streams of knowledge. Generating policy-relevant knowledge is a principal concern. Three basic questions frame the study of diverse aspects of social mobility in the book. How to assess the extent of social mobility in a given development context when the datasets by conventional measurement techniques are unavailable? How to identify drivers and inhibitors of social mobility in particular developing country contexts? How to acquire the knowledge required to design interventions to raise social mobility, either by increasing upward mobility or by lowering downward mobility?

Great Gatsby and the Global South

Great Gatsby and the Global South
Author: Diding Sakri
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 106
Release: 2023-04-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1009382713

In the Global South economic mobility across generations or intergenerational economic mobility is in and of itself an important topic for research with consequences for policy. It concerns the 'stickiness' or otherwise of inequality because mobility is concerned with the extent to which children's economic outcomes are dependent on their parents' economic outcomes. Scholars have estimated levels of intergenerational mobility in many developed countries. Fewer estimates are available for developing countries, where mobility matters more due to starker differences in living standards. This Element surveys the area, conceptually and empirically; it presents a new estimate for a developing country, namely Indonesia; it discusses the 'Great Gatsby Curve' and highlights the different positions of developed and developing countries. Finally, it presents a theoretical framework to explain the drivers of mobility and the stickiness or otherwise of inequality across time. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Human Capital and Gender Inequality in Middle-income Countries

Human Capital and Gender Inequality in Middle-income Countries
Author: Elizabeth M. King
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780367774950

"The role of cognitive and socioemotional skills alongside education in determining people's success in the labour market has been the topic of a growing body of research-but previous studies have mostly missed middle-income countries and the developing world because measures of those skills and data on employment and earnings on large enough samples of adults have typically not been available. Using comparable survey data on these schooling, skills, and labour market outcomes from 13 developing and emerging economies worldwide, this book revisits human capital and gender inequality models. It presents new estimates of the returns to different levels of schooling as well as the cognitive and socioemotional skills for women and men. It examines whether those returns are due to levels of human capital or to structural bias in labour markets, and how these two factors work across the earnings spectrum. The book examines the existence of "glass ceilings" and "sticky floors" for women using this expanded measure of human capital. Further, by analyzing a group of countries of wide-ranging levels of economic development and sociopolitical contexts, the book reveals patterns and insights into how context mediates the relationship between skills and gender gaps in labour market outcomes. This book will be of interest to scholars of human capital, gender inequality in the labour market and development economics, as well as, gender and development policy makers"--

Human Capital Policy

Human Capital Policy
Author: David Neumark
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2021-02-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1800377800

This timely book evaluates international human capital policies, offering a comparative perspective on global efforts to generate new ideas and novel ways of thinking about human capital. Examining educational reforms, quality of education and links between education and socio-economic environments, chapters contrast Western experiences and perspectives with those of industrializing economies in Asia, focusing particularly on Korea and the USA.

Social Class and Transnational Human Capital

Social Class and Transnational Human Capital
Author: Jürgen Gerhards
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2017-06-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315313715

Due to globalization processes, foreign language skills, knowledge about other countries and intercultural competences have increasingly become important for societies and people’s social positions. Previous research on social inequality, however, has dominantly focused on the reproduction of class structures within the boundaries of a particular nation-state without considering the importance of these specific skills and competences. Within Social Class and Transnational Human Capital authors Gerhards, Hans and Carlson refer to these skills as ‘transnational human capital’ and ask to what extent access to this increasingly sought-after resource depends on social class. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of class, they investigate this question via both quantitative and qualitative empirical analyses. In doing so the authors focus, among other examples, on the so-called school year abroad, i.e. students spending up to a year abroad while attending school – a practice which is rather popular in Germany, but also quite common in many other countries. Thus, this insightful volume explores how inequalities in the acquisition of transnational human capital and new forms of social distinction are produced within families, depending on their class position and the educational strategies parents pursue when trying to prepare their children for a globalizing world. An enlightening title, this book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers interested in fields such as sociology, social inequality research, globalization studies and educational studies.

Equity, Human Capital, and Development

Equity, Human Capital, and Development
Author: Ali Khan
Publisher: JAI Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1981
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Monograph essays examining the effects of human capital development on income distribution and economic and social development - discusses poverty measurement, the likely implications of economic growth, effects of guaranteed income on education and educational level, impact of inflation on welfare, etc., develops an economic model incorporating growth and education, and includes case studies. Graphs and references.

Fair Progress?

Fair Progress?
Author: Ambar Narayan
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2018-05-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464812799

Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations around the World focuses on an issue that has gotten much attention in the developed world, but will present new data and analysis covering most of the world including developing economies. The analysis considers whether those born in poverty or in prosperity are destined to remain in the same economic circumstances into which they were born, and looks back over a half a century at whether children's lives are better or worse than their parents' in different parts of the world. It suggests local, national, and global actions and policies that can help break the cycle of poverty, paving the way for the next generation to realize their potential and improve their lives.

The Human Capital Index 2020 Update

The Human Capital Index 2020 Update
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2021-05-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1464816476

Human capital—the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives—is a central driver of sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and successful societies. More human capital is associated with higher earnings for people, higher income for countries, and stronger cohesion in societies. Much of the hard-won human capital gains in many economies over the past decade is at risk of being eroded by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Urgent action is needed to protect these advances, particularly among the poor and vulnerable. Designing the needed interventions, targeting them to achieve the highest effectiveness, and navigating difficult trade-offs make investing in better measurement of human capital now more important than ever. The Human Capital Index (HCI)—launched in 2018 as part of the Human Capital Project—is an international metric that benchmarks the key components of human capital across economies. The HCI is a global effort to accelerate progress toward a world where all children can achieve their full potential. Measuring the human capital that children born today can expect to attain by their 18th birthdays, the HCI highlights how current health and education outcomes shape the productivity of the next generation of workers and underscores the importance of government and societal investments in human capital. The Human Capital Index 2020 Update: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19 presents the first update of the HCI, using health and education data available as of March 2020. It documents new evidence on trends, examples of successes, and analytical work on the utilization of human capital. The new data—collected before the global onset of COVID-19—can act as a baseline to track its effects on health and education outcomes. The report highlights how better measurement is essential for policy makers to design effective interventions and target support. In the immediate term, investments in better measurement and data use will guide pandemic containment strategies and support for those who are most affected. In the medium term, better curation and use of administrative, survey, and identification data can guide policy choices in an environment of limited fiscal space and competing priorities. In the longer term, the hope is that economies will be able to do more than simply recover lost ground. Ambitious, evidence-driven policy measures in health, education, and social protection can pave the way for today’s children to surpass the human capital achievements and quality of life of the generations that preceded them.