One of the inconveniences of being fascinated by data is that there are many domains of great interest. I have focused for a while on social deprivation, crime and election results – Brexit has been a goldmine of insights, for instance.
Trawling the ONS for some interesting data, I stumbled upon an article on human capital. The link to is here. It’s most interesting because at a time where assets are being dematerialised, and information is as valuable as gold, placing a value on people seems at the same time worrying (are we to be bought and sold like chattels) and reassuring (people can be valued, in the appreciative sense of the term).
An initial reading was eyebrow-raising : Young people were more valuable than older people, and men more valuable than women. Reducing this apparently complex field to such a provocative and simple sentence is lazy, and dangerous. Nevertheless, I have seen grids of data that make such a statement.
The key thing is: why ? At a time where an ageing population inflicts an ever-increasing cost on a healthcare system, and where the disparity of pay between men and women is frequently in the news, it might be useful to delve into the reasons that lead to this valuation disparity between groups in our society.
It’s important to do so because measures from the ONS inform government policy, and are also used to justify why some groups receive more attention and benefits than others.
I will also, where possible, make statement that challenge the reasoning behind the valuation disparities, and propose ways of increasing the value of different population categories: since the value of our population seems to have an impact on our future welfare and prosperity, it might be a good thing to do so.
And, of course, i will do my best to visualise this data in a pleasing way using my MicroStrategy citizen data scientist toolkit. What else ?
Let me steal the definition of human capital from the Office of National Statistics:
Human capital has been defined as “the knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being”. It sees education and training as investment into individuals’ value and how much potential they gain.
And, if you want to know more about the mechanics of it, there’s a United Nations definition:
(not light reading, but essential as a primer on the topic).
Update: I am seeking to delegate research on this topic, in particular why it seems to be that women appear to be valued less than men. I say it seems because I have not had time to investigate this, and I have probably fallen foul of the “jumping to conclusions because I am too lazy to read on” syndrome. However, I sense that this might be key in unlocking true gender equality if a fundamental economic measure, that shapes policy, can be rewritten so that the true value of women can be recognised in hard financial terms. Everything else on this topic might be dependent on this.
A Blog about Data 
You must be logged in to post a comment.