STATE OF HUMAN

CAPITAL IN THE
WORLD
Edonna Joie B. Alinsub
OBJECTIVES

1. To explore the 2020 Human Capital

Index (HCI) in the World.
2. To assess the state of human capital
in the world during the COVID-19
pandemic.
3. To identify countries with highest
and lowest human capital
performance.
HOW DOES HUMAN
CAPITAL HELP A
COUNTRY?
WHAT IS THE STATE
OF HUMAN CAPITAL
IN THE WORLD
TODAY?
Children are experiencing stunted
The highly centralized education
growth due to malnutrition in
system in Singapore.
Africa.
HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX
HUMAN CAPITAL
INDEX
The index is designed to capture the
amount of human capital that a child born
today can expect to acquire by age 18,
given the risks of poor health and poor
education that prevail in the country where
she lives.
HUMAN CAPITAL
INDEX
A significant innovation is that the index
measures the contribution of health and
education to the productivity of individuals
and countries, anchored in rigorous micro-
econometric studies.
WHAT DATA ARE USED TO
CALCULATE HCI?
The HCI quantitatively illustrates the key
stages in the trajectory from birth to
adulthood of a child born in a given year
and their consequences for the productivity
of the next generation of workers, with
three components.
COMPONENT 1:
SURVIVAL
This component of the index reflects the

unfortunate reality that not all children born

today will survive until the age when the

process of human capital accumulation

through formal education begins.

COMPONENT 2:
SCHOOL
This component of the index

combines information on the

quantity and quality of education.

COMPONENT 3: HEALTH
Adult survival rates- This is measured as the share of 15-year-

olds who survive until age 60.

Healthy growth among children. under age 5- This is measured

using stunting rates, that is, as 1 minus the share of children

under 5 who are below normal height for age.

HUMAN
CAPITAL INDEX
2020 UPDATE
HCI 2010 TO HCI
2020
COMPARISON
2020 HCI:
SURVIVAL
2020 HCI:
SCHOOLING
2020 HCI:
HEALTH
LIMITATIONS
OF HCI
The 2018 Human Capital Index covered 156 World Bank Group member

countries and their territories, as well as the West Bank and Gaza. The HCI

2020 covers 174 economies, representing over 98% of the world’s

population.

Components of the HCI such as stunting and test scores are measured only

infrequently in some countries, and not at all in others. Other components,

like child and adult survival rates, are imprecisely estimated in countries

where vital registries are incomplete or non-existent.

HOW IS COVID-19
IMPACTING HUMAN
CAPITAL?
COVID-19 threatens to wipe out a decade of human capital gains – leaving

a generation behind – as countries struggle to contain the virus, save lives,

and rebuild their economies.

Without immediate and massive action, such as the those outlined in the

analysis Protecting People and Economies, the erosion of health,

knowledge, skills and opportunities due to the pandemic today could

undermine economic recovery and prosperity for entire nations in the

future.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO
PROTECT AND INVEST IN PEOPLE
BEYOND THE PANDEMIC?
• Boost social expenditures

• Protecting fiscal space

• Invest in essential service delivery.

⚬ Strengthen social safety nets to protect against shocks and to

facilitate reforms

⚬ Sharpen focus on primary health care and pandemic preparedness,

nutrition, early child development, learning and essential services

across sectors – with the use of technology and improved

governance.
THANK
YOU