Cognitive Human Capital Research Articles

Will the situation of Left-Behind children improve when their parents Return? evidence from China

Based on Grossman’s (1972) health model and Becker and Tomes’ (1979, 1986) cognitive ability family decision-making model, this study examines the impact and mechanisms of children’s left-behind status and parental return on the accumulation of children’s health and cognitive human capital. By extending these models, we derive that changes in left-behind status have both income and separation effects on children’s human capital accumulation. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we employ a Propensity Score Matching with Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) model to investigate the impact of changes in left-behind status (either remaining left-behind or experiencing parental return) on children’s human capital accumulation. The research findings reveal the following: (1) Compared to non-left-behind children, left-behind status significantly decreases children’s health levels by 11.81%. In contrast, parental return significantly improves children’s health levels by 13.04% compared to children whose parents are away. All results are statistically significant. (2) The negative impact of left-behind status is more pronounced for primary school children, those residing in rural areas, and those with parents of lower educational levels, especially in western regions. In contrast, parental return has a more substantial positive impact on junior high school children, those living in rural areas, and those with parents of lower educational levels, particularly in western regions. (3) When analyzing the impact mechanisms, we find that although parental migration for work increases household income, leading to a positive income effect on children’s health, it does not fully offset the negative separation effect caused by parental absence. As a result, the overall effect remains negative. Based on these findings, for migrant worker parents, we propose tiered recommendations: ideally, parents should return home; alternatively, children should follow their parents. For the government, we suggest establishing comprehensive service centers for left-behind children based on actual needs. We recommend designing a holistic plan aimed at addressing the health issues of left-behind children through multi-level support measures.

Does Happiness Boost the Impact of Intelligence on Economic Growth?

Previous studies have found that average cognitive ability at the national level, which has been called national intelligence and scaled as IQ, is an important determinant of economic growth at the cross-national level. The current study re-investigates the claim that being a happier society weakens the positive association between IQ and economic growth. It investigates whether there is a threshold effect of happiness on the relationship between national IQ and economic growth between 1960 and 2017. Controlling for endogeneity with instrumental variables (IVs), the results confirmed that the relationship between IQ and economic growth is weaker in countries with high levels of self-reported happiness. The diminishing returns of IQ for economic growth can be recognized above a threshold level of 6.25 on the zero-to-10 happiness scale. The suggested explanation is that higher levels of happiness tend to reduce the aspiration for higher productivity among the people, which reduces the impact of cognitive human capital on economic growth. Key Words: Intelligence; National IQ; Happiness; Economic growth; Threshold regression

Human capital development as a factor in achieving sustainable development and enterprise competitiveness

The article focuses on the importance of human capital both in the context of the competitiveness of production and in the context of the impact of the level of development of human capital on the environment to achieve sustainable development. The emphasis of the study is on the unique component of human capital - the creative class. The concepts of creative and cognitive human capital are revealed. It has been established that in the countries of the European Union, the development of human capital correlates with a reduction in the negative impact of social activities on the environment. A correlation analysis between R&D costs and greenhouse gas emissions in the EU suggests a more complex picture of the relationship between creative human capital and environmental quality. By developing human capital, stimulating innovation, the housekeeper can thereby minimise the negative impact on the environment.

“This One Is 400 Libyan Dinars, This One Is 500”: Insights from Cognitive Human Capital and Slave Trade

ABSTRACTOne of the most disturbing contemporary episodes in human history that has been decried globally is the recent Libyan experience of slave trade, where migrants captured end-up being sold as slaves. We contribute to the understanding of this phenomenon by investigating the role of cognitive human capital on slave trade. To this end, we use the historic intelligence and slave trade variables, respectively, as the independent and outcome variables of interest. Our findings show a negative relationship between slave trade and cognitive human capital. Hence, the slave trade is more apparent when cognitive human capital is low. The Ordinary Least Squares findings are robust to the control for outliers, uncertainty about the model and Tobit regressions. We substantiate why from the perspective of massive sensitization and education, the non-contemporary relationship between cognitive ability and slave trade established in this study has contemporary practical policy relevance in efforts to stem the tide of clandestine travel to Europe through countries in which clandestine migrants are captured and sold as slaves.

This One is 400 Libyan Dinars, this One is 500: Insights from Cognitive Human Capital and Slave Trade

One of the most disturbing contemporary episodes in human history that has been decried globally is the recent Libyan experience of slave trade, where migrants captured end-up being sold as slaves. We contribute to the understanding of this phenomenon by investigating the role of cognitive human capital in slave trade. To this end, we use the historic intelligence and slave trade variables respectively, as the independent and outcome variables of interest. Our findings show a negative relationship between slave trade and cognitive human capital. Hence, slave trade is more apparent when cognitive human capital is low. The Ordinary Least Squares findings are robust to the control for outliers, uncertainty about the model and Tobit regressions. We substantiate why from the perspective of massive sensitisation and education, the non-contemporary relationship between cognitive ability and slave trade established in this study has contemporary practical policy relevance in efforts to stem the tide of clandestine travel to Europe through countries in which clandestine migrants are captured and sold as slaves.

Measuring Human Capital Across Countries: IQ and the Human Capital Index

It has been shown that country-level IQ and aggregated performance by school-age children on international assessment tests in math and science are by-in-large capturing analogous indicators of the cognitive human capital. We expand that analysis by comparing country-level IQ to the World Economic Forum’s Human Capital Index (HCI). This index, comprised of several dozen separate indicators, accounts for inputs and outcomes to measure human capital, across age profiles and gender. Two outcomes are of note. First, there is a positive, significant correlation between IQ and the vast majority of the component indicators in the HCI across all age cohorts. Second, because the HCI’s interpretation of educational attainment extends beyond formal education by including indicators such as on-the-job learning and other work-related skills, our finding that IQ is positively correlated with these measures suggests a deeper connection between national average IQ and the fundamental factors of what constitutes the cognitive side of human capital development.

Genetic Distance and Cognitive Human Capital: A Cross-National Investigation

This paper explores the determinants of intelligence by focusing on the role played by barriers to the diffusion of competence and human capital. The results based on cross-sectional data from 167 countries consisting of 1996-2009 averages suggest that, genetic distance to global frontiers has a negative relationship with human capital. Countries that are genetically far from leading nations tend to have lower levels of human capital with the negative correlation from the USA frontier higher relative to the UK frontier. The sign is consistent with the relationship of genetic diversity and robust to the control of macroeconomic, geographical, institutional and influential variables. Policy implications are discussed.

Cognitive capital, good governance, and the wealth of nations

Good governance or “government effectiveness” (per the World Bank) is seen as a critical factor for the wealth of nations insofar as it shapes political and economic institutions and affects overall economic performance. The quality of governance, in turn, depends on the attributes of the people involved. In an analysis based on international data, government effectiveness was related to the cognitive human capital of the society as a whole, of the intellectual class, and of leading politicians. The importance of cognitive capital was reflected in the rate of innovation, the degree of economic freedom, and country competitiveness, all of which were found to have an impact on the level of productivity (GDP per capita) and wealth (per adult). Correlation, regression, and path analyses involving N=98 to 201 countries showed that government effectiveness had a very strong impact on productivity and wealth (total standardized effects of β=.56–.68). Intellectual classes' cognitive competence, as indicated by scores for the top 5 percent of the population on PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS, also had a strong impact (β=.50–.54). Cross-lagged panel designs were used to establish causal directions, including backward effects from economic freedom and wealth on governance. The use of further controls showed no independent impacts on per capita wealth coming from geographical variables or natural resource rents. Finally, we discuss background factors and ways in which governance might be improved.

The effect of intelligence on financial development: A cross-country comparison

We assess the correlations between intelligence and financial development in 123 countries using data averages from 2000–2010. Cognitive human capital is measured in terms of IQ (Lynn and Vanhanen's IQ measures), cognitive ability (Rindermann's combination of psychometric and student assessment test measures) and cognitive skills (Hanushek's student assessment test measures), while financial development is appreciated both from financial intermediary and stock market development perspectives. Short-term financial measures are private and domestic credits whereas long-term financial indicators include: stock market capitalization, stock market value traded and turnover ratio. The following findings are established based on standardized correlations. (1) For the nexus with private credit, the positive correlations of IQ and cognitive ability are broadly similar, while that of cognitive skills is lower relative to cognitive ability. (2) The correlation between intelligence and other financial variables are broadly similar, but for the higher degree of association with stock market value traded. (3) The underlying findings are broadly confirmed in terms of sign of correlation, though the magnitude of correlation is higher (lower) with the addition of social capital or ethnic fractionalization (institutions or income). (4) When continents are excluded to control for extreme effects, baseline results are confirmed and the following on order of continental importance in financial development is established in increasing magnitude: Americas, Europe, Oceania, Africa and Asia.

Education and Health in Late-Life Among High School Graduates: Cognitive Versus Psychological Aspects of Human Capital

Just as postsecondary schooling serves as a dividing line between the advantaged and disadvantaged on measures ranging from income to marital status, it also serves as a diving line between the healthy and unhealthy. Why are the better educated healthier? The human capital theory posits that education makes you healthier via cognitive (general and specific skill improvements) and non-cognitive psychological resources (traits like conscientiousness and a sense of mastery). I employ the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS, 1957-2003/5) to test the relative strength of measures of cognitive human capital (academic performance) versus noncognitive psychological human capital (personality and psychological orientations) in explaining the relationship between educational attainment and health outcomes among high school graduates. I find little evidence of an important role for noncognitive psychological human capital, but find a relatively significant role for cognitive human capital, as measured by high school academic performance, which both weakens the association between education and health and is correlated with health independent of educational attainment. It is not just obtaining a degree or additional years of schooling; academic performance is strongly linked to health in late-life.

Education and health in late-life among high school graduates: Cognitive versus psychological aspects of human capital.

Just as postsecondary schooling serves as a dividing line between the advantaged and disadvantaged on outcomes like income and marital status, it also serves as a dividing line between the healthy and unhealthy. Why are the better educated healthier? Human capital theory posits that education makes one healthier via cognitive (skill improvements) and noncognitive psychological resources (traits such as conscientiousness and a sense of mastery). I employ the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (1957-2005) to test the relative strength of measures of cognitive human capital versus noncognitive psychological human capital in explaining the relationship between education and health outcomes among high school graduates. I find little evidence that noncognitive psychological human capital is a significant mediator, but find a relatively significant role for cognitive human capital, as measured by high school academic performance. It is not just higher educational attainment; academic performance is strongly linked to health in later life.