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Regional Problems and Policies in Latin America pp 379–405Cite as

The Geography and Determinants of Regional Human Capital in Eight Latin American and Caribbean Countries

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Part of the book series: Advances in Spatial Science ((ADVSPATIAL))

Abstract

There is broad consensus concerning the importance of human capital in economic development (Lucas 1988; Barro 1992). Human capital accumulation stimulates economic growth and development through direct and indirect transmission channels (Lucas 1988; Mathur 1999). A large endowment of highly educated individuals in a region plays a key role in local economic performance, accelerating the rate of technological change, innovations, diffusion inventions and emergence of entrepreneurs (Mathur 1999; Desrochers and Leppäla 2011). Spatial concentration of human capital also promotes knowledge spill overs, enhancing the linkages between new ideas, technology and economic development (Jacobs 1969).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is also recognise that differences in cross-national comparisons can also arise from differences in population coverage and data quality. However, in practice, there is little that can be done to minimise such differences after data collection and processing. Hence, this issue is not discussed in this section.

  2. 2.

    Data from the 2010 census round were not yet accessible for most countries in the sample (excluding Mexico); or they were only available in predetermined tables (e.g. Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico). However, the analysis required customisable data to harmonise education- and occupation-based variables.

  3. 3.

    It is important to note that, in addition to the procedures employed to create a temporally consistent spatial framework, the final number of regions in the dataset was also conditioned by the data available from IPUMS. Since IPUMS data are publicly available, its data holdings are restricted in spatial detail. Within larger regions, spatial units with populations smaller than 20,000 are amalgamated. Hence, for small geographic scales, this procedure reduces the number of spatial units for which data were originally collected.

  4. 4.

    It is important to point out that the data used in this paper for Colombia (from the 2005 census) and for Peru (from the 2007 census) lie in ‘the 2010 round of censuses’ of UN classification scheme. This differs from what appears in Appendix 1.

  5. 5.

    Data on Chile and Colombia were also harmonised using the ISCED-1997.

  6. 6.

    Note that cross-country differences in the number of individuals with university attainment are not directly comparable since they reflect differences in national population size and other demographic processes.

  7. 7.

    Efforts were made to map the data. However, discrepancies in geographic boundaries between data files prevented this action. Digital boundaries for the administrative units of each country, at hand, differ from those on which IPUMS data are geographically organised. To create consistent boundaries, an automatised procedure was not possible. Instead, a manual procedure was needed. However, harmonising zonal boundaries manually resulted impractical due to the large number of geographic units involved in the analysis.

  8. 8.

    The data used for Colombia were extracted from the RedatamWebServer of the UN population division for LAC (CELADE).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queensland Centre for Population Research, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, St Lucia, Australia

    Francisco Rowe

Authors
  1. Francisco Rowe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francisco Rowe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Economia Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Alcalá de Henares - Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Juan R. Cuadrado-Roura

  2. Universidad Adolfo Ibánez, Vina del Mar, Chile

    Patricio Aroca

Appendices

Appendix 1: Spatial Resolution, Number of Regions and Census Rounds

Code

Country

Spatial resolution

Number of regions

Census round

1990

2000

ARG

Argentina

Department

307

1991

2001

BQL

Bolivia

Province

84

1992

2001

BRA

Brazil

Municipality

1,447

1990

2000

CHI

Chile

Municipality

335

1992

2002

COL

Colombia

Municipality

1,114

1993

2005

ECU

Ecuador

Canton

119

1990

2001

MEX

Mexico

Municipality

2,403

1990

2000

PER

Peru

Province

169

1993

2007

  1. Note: The census round column indicates the data that were used in the regression analysis
  2. Data on Colombia were extracted from http://www.eclac.cl/redatam/. For this country, the 2005 geographic structure was adopted, since analyses were only conducted the 2005 census data – see text

Appendix 2: Definition of Variables

Variable

Descriptiona

Human capital

People in the workforce with, bachelor degree or above

Bohemians

People employed in

245 writers and creative or performing artists

3131 photographers and image and sound recording equipment operators

347 Artistic. entertainment, and sports associate professionals

521 fashion and other models

Openess index

Foreign-overseas population (1990 census round)

Public provision

Persons employed in

80 education

85 health

Cultural index

Persons employed in

5,520 restaurants bars, and canteens

9,211 motion picture and video production and distribution

9,212 motion picture projection

9,213 radio and television activities

9,214 dramatic arts, music, and other arts activities

9,219 other entertainment activities n.e.c

9,231 library arid archives activities

9,232 museums activities and preservation of historical. sites and buildings

9,233 botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities

9,241 sporting activities

High-technology industries

2,423 manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals, and botanical products

3,000 manufacture of office, accounting, and computing machinery

3,210 manufacture of electronic valves and tubes and other electronic components

3,230 manufacture of television and radio receivers, sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus, and associated goods

3,311 manufacture of medical and surgical equipment and orthopedic appliances

3,312 manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, checking, testing, navigating, and other purposes, except industrial process control equipment

3,320 manufacture of optical instruments and photographic equipment

3,330 manufacture of watches and clocks

6,420 telecommunications

7,210 hardware consultancy

7,220 software consultancy and supply

7,230 data processing

7,240 data base activities

7,250 maintenance and repair of office, accounting and computing machinery

7,290 other computer related activities

7,310 research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering (MsE)

7,320 research arid experimental development on social sciences and human it les (SSH)

7,421 architectural and engineering activities and related technical consultancy

7,422 technical testing and analysis

Employment growth population

Employment (2000 census round) – employment (1990 census round)

Population (1990 census round)

  1. aNote that the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) was used to define human capital. The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88) was used to define bohemians. The International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC Rev. 3) was used to define public provision, cultural index and high-technology industries

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Rowe, F. (2013). The Geography and Determinants of Regional Human Capital in Eight Latin American and Caribbean Countries. In: Cuadrado-Roura, J., Aroca, P. (eds) Regional Problems and Policies in Latin America. Advances in Spatial Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39674-8_17

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