Hodnocení úrovně lidského kapitálu v zemích OECD

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis addresses the issue of human capital and its current significance for individuals and society. Human capital represents a set of knowledge, abilities, and skills acquired by an individual through education and on-the-job training. The formation of human capital is also influenced by the family environment and healthcare. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the level of human capital in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the importance of human capital in relation to selected macroeconomic indicators. The thesis is divided into six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, which defines the objectives and structure of the work. It is followed by the theoretical concept of human capital, a review of empirical studies, analysis, discussion, and conclusion. For the analysis of the level of human capital, descriptive and correlation analysis of selected macroeconomic indicators was chosen. These include the share of the population by educational attainment in the total population, the unemployment rate by education level, public and private expenditure on various levels of education, the overall unemployment rate, the Human Capital Index (HCI), and PISA test results. Descriptive analysis was carried out for some of the above-mentioned indicators in 32 OECD countries for the years 2010, 2015, and 2020. The exceptions were the HCI and the overall unemployment rate, where the analysis was conducted for the years 2010 and 2020. Correlation analysis covered the period of years 2006 and 2018. The results of the descriptive analysis showed that countries with a higher share of tertiary educated population such as Australia, South Korea, and Canada, as well as most countries located in Northern Europe exhibit lower unemployment rates and higher HCI values. Higher public spending on tertiary education also has a positive impact on the share of the population with tertiary education. In contrast, countries with a higher proportion of primary-educated population face higher unemployment rates. Correlation analysis confirmed a weak existing relationship between the level of human capital and low unemployment. However, it is necessary to acknowledge that the unemployment rate is influenced by a number of other factors, such as active or passive employment policies. The thesis confirmed the importance of human capital as a factor influencing the unemployment rate. If countries aim to achieve long-term economic growth and stability, it is necessary to increase the level of human capital among the population through investments in educational systems and effective linking of education with the labor market.