CERI - Human and Social Capital Indicators

Human capital is a key factor, among others in combating unemployment and social exclusion. New indicators are needed to analyse how individuals acquire, use and lose knowledge, skills and competences, throughout life. Closely linked to human capital, the concept of social capital, which refers to the capacity of people to act together, create synergies and build partnerships, is a valuable source of organisational capacity and learning. The measurement of its impact on economic or social performance is even more challenging than that of human capital. The International Adult Literacy Survey provided the first direct comparison of the incidence of some skills relevant to working and everyday living in the adult populations of various countries. A similar approach is developed with respect to life skills in domains such as analytical reasoning, teamwork and information technology.

Publications

• The Well-being of Nations: The Role of Human and Social Capital
• Human Capital Investment - An International Comparison

Meeting

• International Symposium on the Contribution of Human and Social Capital to Sustained Economic Growth and Well-being, Québec City, Canada, 19-21 March 2000

See also

• Canadian Journal of Policy Research / Revue canadienne de recherche sur les politiques, Volume 2 N° 1 Spring/Printemps 2001
  
  This publication is a bilingual journal, published by Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal for the Government of Canada’s Policy Research Secretariat. Several of the articles in this issue are based on papers that were presented at a symposium on "The Contribution of Human and Social Capital to Sustained Economic Growth and Well-being," organized by the Applied Research Branch of Human Resources Development Canada, in conjunction with OECD. The symposium was held in Quebec City, Canada, in March 2000.
  
• Fact Sheet