In recent decades, reliable studies have affirmed that the stock of knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in the individual (also called Human Capital) is one of the main determinants of happiness and personal satisfaction. There is increasing evidence that this stock is positively associated with higher income, more highly qualified jobs, lower risk of unemployment, better physical health – and more happiness too. However, exploring the relationships between Human Capital and Subjective Well-Being involves significant problems. These concepts’ multidimensionality, their intangibility, and their dynamic and contextual nature makes them difficult to apply empirically or to include in parsimonious models consisting of a small cluster of explanatory variables. Furthermore, the large number of intervening variables makes it hard to distinguish between the effects of conditions that are often concatenated, increasing the likelihood of fallacious, all-encompassing explanation. About twenty years ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expressed dissatisfaction with most widespread estimates of Human Capital — mainly based on educational attainment — and launched an international program for directly assessing so-called life skills. This program — consisting of three surveys: IALS (International Adult Literacy Survey, undertaken between 1994 and 2000); ALL (Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, undertaken between 2003 and 2008) and PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, undertaken between 2011 and 2012) — not only investigated the different components of Human Capital (prose literacy, document literacy, quantitative literacy, problem solving), but also provided some useful estimates of respondents’ Subjective Well-Being. This chapter uses several indexes developed through secondary analysis of data from the OECD to examine the relationship between Human Capital and Subjective Well-Being in several countries, and suggests promising directions for future research.
Does Human Capital Buy Happiness? Evidence from Several International Skills Surveys
CORNALI, FEDERICA
2015-01-01
Abstract
In recent decades, reliable studies have affirmed that the stock of knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in the individual (also called Human Capital) is one of the main determinants of happiness and personal satisfaction. There is increasing evidence that this stock is positively associated with higher income, more highly qualified jobs, lower risk of unemployment, better physical health – and more happiness too. However, exploring the relationships between Human Capital and Subjective Well-Being involves significant problems. These concepts’ multidimensionality, their intangibility, and their dynamic and contextual nature makes them difficult to apply empirically or to include in parsimonious models consisting of a small cluster of explanatory variables. Furthermore, the large number of intervening variables makes it hard to distinguish between the effects of conditions that are often concatenated, increasing the likelihood of fallacious, all-encompassing explanation. About twenty years ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expressed dissatisfaction with most widespread estimates of Human Capital — mainly based on educational attainment — and launched an international program for directly assessing so-called life skills. This program — consisting of three surveys: IALS (International Adult Literacy Survey, undertaken between 1994 and 2000); ALL (Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, undertaken between 2003 and 2008) and PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, undertaken between 2011 and 2012) — not only investigated the different components of Human Capital (prose literacy, document literacy, quantitative literacy, problem solving), but also provided some useful estimates of respondents’ Subjective Well-Being. This chapter uses several indexes developed through secondary analysis of data from the OECD to examine the relationship between Human Capital and Subjective Well-Being in several countries, and suggests promising directions for future research.
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