Abstract
A theoretical and empirical basis for comparing stocks of human capital in the American states is developed. Human capital report cards are measurement tools allowing states to benchmark their production and retention of the knowledges, skills and abilities required by economic development and public education policy making. A prototype report card is created from 12 indicators — seven of which theoretically capture a ‘basic’ dimension of human capital and five of which measure ‘complex’ human capital. Principal component factor analysis reveals that for the 50 states in the 1980s the concept of human capital is a multi-dimensional construct rather than a unidimensional one and that ‘basic’ and ‘complex’ factors do in fact distinguish the major cleavages among human capital measures. A further finding is that the relative positions of the 50 states can be plotted on the two dimensions with practical payoffs accruing to state and local planners.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Productivity and Quality Center (1993).The Benchmarking Workbook: Adapting Best Practices for Performance Improvement. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press.
Andrews, Frank M. and Stephen B. Withey (1974). ‘Developing measures of perceived life quality: Results from several national surveys,’Social Indicators Research 1(1): 1–26.
Bauer, Raymond A. (1966).Social Indicators. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
The Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce (1990).America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages. Rochester: National Center on Education and the Economy.
Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED) (1993).1993 Development Report Card for the States: Economic Benchmarks for State and Corporate Decision Makers. Washington.
Council of Chief State School Officers (1990a).State Education Indicators 1990. Washington: CCSSO.
Council of Chief State School Officers (1990b).State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education 1990. Washington: CCSSO.
Drucker, Peter F. (1968).The Age of Discontinuity. New York: Harper and Row.
Epstein, Paul D. (1992). ‘Get ready: The time for performance measurement is finally coming!’Public Administration Review 52(5): 513–519.
Gardner, Howard (1983).Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Grayson, Jr. C. Jackson (1993). ‘Outcomes, benchmarking and TQM,’Health Systems Review 26(6): 14–17.
Gross, Bertram M. (1967).Social Goals and Indicators for a Great Society. Philadelphia: The American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Gross, Bertram M. (1969).Social Intelligence for America's Future: Explorations in Societal Problems. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Hammack, David C., Michael Hartoonian, John Howe, Lynn B. Jenkins, and Eugene Owen (1990).The US History Report Card. Washington: US Department of Education.
Harrison, Charles (1988).Public Schools USA: A Comparative Guide to School Districts. Charlotte: Williamson Publishing.
Hatry, H. P., M. Alexander, and J. R. Fountain, Jr. (1989).Elementary and Secondary Education. Stanford: Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Hatry, H. P., J. R. Fountain, Jr., J. M. Sullivan, and L. Kramer (1990).An Overview. Stanford: Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Kiesling, Herbert J. (1994). ‘Reading the report cards: What do “state of achievement” reports tell us about American education? Review Essay,’Economics of Education Review 13(2).
Lapointe, Archie E., Janice M. Askew, and Nancy A. Mead (1992).Learning Science. Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Lapointe, Archie E., Nancy A. Mead, and Janice M. Askew (1992).Learning Mathematics. Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Lehnen, Robert G. (1992). ‘Constructing state education performance indicators from ACT and SAT Scores,”Policy Studies Journal 20(1): 22–40.
Lehnen, Robert G. and Eugene B. McGregor, Jr. (1991). ‘Economic Development and Formal Intellectual Attainment,’ a paper presented at the 13th Annual APPAM Research Conference, Bethesda.
MacRae, Jr. Duncan (1985).Policy Indicators. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Machlup, Fritz (1980).Knowledge and Knowledge Production. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Machlup, Fritz (1982).The Branches of Learning. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Machlup, Fritz (1984).The Economics of Information and Human Capital. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Marshall, Ray and Marc Tucker (1992).Thinking for a Living: Education and the Wealth of Nations. New York: Basic Books.
McGregor, Jr. Eugene B. (1991).Strategic Management of Human Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Workforce Decision Making in the Post-Industrial Era. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
McGregor, Jr. Eugene B. (1994). ‘Economic Development and Public Education: Strategies and standards.’Educational Policy 8(3): 252–271.
Mullins, Ina V. S. and Lynn B. Jenkins (1990).The Reading Report Card, 1971–88. Washington: US Department of Education.
Mullins, Ina V.S., John A. Dossey, Eugene H. Owen, and Gary W. Phillips (1991).The State of Mathematics Achievement. Washington: US Department of Education.
National Center for Education Statistics (1991a).Report of the Special Study Panel on Education Indicators to the Acting Commissioner of Education Statistics. Education Counts: An Indicator System to Monitor the Nation's Education Health. Washington: US Department of Education.
National Center for Education Statistics (1991b).The State of Mathematics Achievement: NAEP's 1990 Assessment of the Nation and the Trial Assessment of the States. Washington: US Department of Education.
National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983).Beyond Rhetoric: A New American Agenda for Children and Families. A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education. Washington.
National Education Goals Panel (1991).The National Education Goals Report 1991: Building A Nation of Learners. Washington.
National Education Goals Panel (1992).The National Education Goals Report 1991: Building A Nation of Learners. Washington.
National Governors Association (1993). ‘Strategic investment: Tough choices for America's future,’Backgrounder. Washington.
Oregon Progress Board (1991).Oregon Benchmarks: Setting Measurable Standards for Progress. Report to the 1991 Legislature. Salem.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1992).Education at a Glance. Paris.
Rivlin, Alice M. (1971).Systematic Thinking for Social Action. Washington: The Brookings Institution.
Salamon, Lester M. (1991). ‘Overview: Why human capital? Why now?’ in David W. Hornbeck and Lester M. Salamon, eds.,Human Capital and America's Future. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1–39.
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) (1991).What Work Requires of Schools. Washington: US Department of Labor.
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) (1992).Learning A Living: A Blueprint for High Performance. Washington: US Department of Labor.
Shultz, Theodore W. (1971).Investment in Human Capital: The Role of Education. New York: Free Press.
US Bureau of Census (1976).Social Indicators. Washington.
US Department of Education (1991).America 2000: An Education Strategy. Washington.
US News and World Report (1993).America's Best Hospitals. Washington: 2400 N Street, NW.
US Office of Management and Budget (1973).Social Indicators. Washington.
in't Veld, Roeland J. (1993). ‘The dynamics of educational performance indicators,’ in John L. Mikesell, ed.,International Perspectives on Regional Development and Regional Organization. Bloomington: Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 311–319.
Wholey, Joseph S. and Harry P. Hatry (1992). ‘The case for performance monitoring,’Public Administration Review 52(6): 604–610.
Woodward, S. N. (1986). ‘Performance indicators and management performance in nationalized industries,’Public Administration 64: 303–317.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lehnen, R.G., McGregor, E.M. Human capital report cards for American states. Policy Sci 27, 19–35 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999597
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999597