Human capital may be defined as the skills, knowledge, attributes and abilities that define the productive contribution of the population. A term that was coined first by Alfred Pigou but brought to prominence by the early work of Gary Becker, human capital is considered one of the key determinants of productivity, people’s living standards and a complementary asset necessary for successful innovation and technology adoption, widely recognised as central to the success of the knowledge economy.
This online workshop explored some of the latest developments and evidence in relation to human capital with contributions from academia, statistical agencies, government and non-governmental organisations. Discussions focused on developments in methodology and measurement, as well as different facets of human capital, including skills, education and personality. The day provided a regional context to human capital and the opportunity to discuss and share experiences that are pertinent to the ongoing policy discussions concerning inequality in the UK.
This workshop was supported by the Office for National Statistics and UKRI/ESRC COVID-19 Recovery Fund, grant number ES/V017543/1.
You can find slides for all presentations on this page, as well as video recordings here of session 1 ‘Skills Mismatch’, session 2 ‘Skills & Commercial Data’, session 3 ‘Regional Variations in Human Capital’ and session 4 panel session ‘Skill measurement for policy and research use’.