CEA 43rd Annual Conference
Thursday, May 28 - Sunday, May 31, 2009
University of Toronto, Ontario

Author/Presenter Barbara Fraumeni (University of Southern Maine)
Title A Categorical Approach to Constructing Jorgenson-Fraumeni Human Capital Accounts
Abstract Jorgenson-Fraumeni human capital accounts have been constructed for a number of countries. The challenge to expanding the number of countries for which these accounts have been constructed in order to facilitate cross-country comparisons is the considerable body of data required. In order to reduce the amount of data and effort needed to put together these accounts, a simplified approach is proposed. This simplified approach uses categorical data instead of data by single year of age and by single level of highest education level attained. Using a categorical approach is also practical as countries may only have categorical data available. However, using such approach necessitates making a number of assumptions, such as assuming that all students follow a normal progression through the educational system. This paper will present and discuss these assumptions as well as present some empirical estimates for the United States generated by using a categorical approach.

CEA 2009 Conference | Conference Program