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In their quest for gross domestic product (GDP) growth, governments have neglected many important things, from happiness to health to education.
Today, the World Bank, based in Washington, has released a global ranking called the Human Capital Index, which aims to assess how far governments allow their citizens to reach their full potential. Singapore is ranked first.
"For the poorest people, human capital is often their only asset," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said at the launch in Bali, Indonesia, at the World Bank's annual meeting. of the International Monetary Fund.
"Countries can use [the new index] to assess the income they are losing because of the shortage of human capital and the speed with which they can turn those losses into gains if they act now, "writes the World Bank.
For example, children in Morocco, El Salvador, Tunisia and Kenya could earn an extra 50% in their lifetime if their governments offer what the World Bank calls "comprehensive education and comprehensive health". . Twenty-eight countries have registered as first-time adopters use the index to guide policies.
The United States ranks 24th, tied with Serbia, where GDP per capita is about a quarter of the US level. Among other problems, the United States has been penalized by its learning deficit: while American students spend an average of 13.3 years in education at the age of 18, the World Bank counts only 11, 1 years worth of what they actually learned.
The index also compares the situation of boys and girls in 126 countries and the 157 countries included. In the United States, for example, girls have an HCI score of 0.76 and boys 0.73 out of a maximum of 1, which places the country in 32nd place for girls and 25th for boys compared to to other countries. This means that if US health and education investments with their children were fully effective, girls could earn 32% more and boys 35% more in their lifetime.
"A characteristic of countries that have been successful in the index … they are also concerned about the equal distribution of health and education," said World Bank research director Simeon Djankov. Washington Post.
