A cross-country analysis of human capital distribution with private and social returns

Kumari Jha () and Bharat Diwakar ()
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Kumari Jha: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Bharat Diwakar: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Economics Bulletin, 2025, vol. 45, issue 1, 18 - 29

Abstract: While calculating human capital and its distribution, the literature overlooked the returns to education and considered only average years of schooling. This study addresses the gap by calculating human capital Gini using the returns to schooling from 1970 to 2015 for diminishing and U-shaped returns to education. And analyses the impact of the differences on cross-country human capital and their distribution. Between 1970 and 2015, the divergence between social and private returns has increased significantly. The initial level of human capital inequality plays a significant role in the growth of human capital Gini for both private and social returns. Still, it has a greater impact on developing than developed countries. Thus, significant public and public-private investments are required to provide further access to secondary and tertiary education to reduce economic human capital inequality.

Keywords: Private returns; Social returns; Human capital; Returns Gini; Tertiary returns (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 J2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-03-30
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