--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/net-investment-and-stocks-of-human-capital-in-the-united-states-1975-2013/" title: "Net Investment and Stocks of Human Capital in the United States, 1975-2013" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:42:39+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:42:39+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2017" ipm_keyword: - "1975-2013" - "aging" - "education" - "human capital" - "Jorgenson-Fraumeni" - "lifetime income" - "national accounts" - "net investment" - "stocks" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Net Investment and Stocks of Human Capital in the United States, 1975-2013 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/net-investment-and-stocks-of-human-capital-in-the-united-states-1975-2013/ # Net Investment and Stocks of Human Capital in the United States, 1975-2013 [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-33-8-Christian.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Christian, Michael. 2017. “Net Investment and Stocks of Human Capital in the United States, 1975-2013.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 33 (Fall 2017): 128–149. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/net-investment-and-stocks-of-human-capital-in-the-united-states-1975-2013/ ## Author: - Michael Christian Education Analytics ## IPM Issue 33 Fall 2017 pp. 128–149 ## Related IPM articles [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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It develops estimates of a series of human capital stock and net investment from 1975 to 2013, using the lifetime earnings approach of Jorgenson and Fraumeni (1989, 1992). The series decomposes net investment into investment from births, investment in education net of aging of persons enrolled in school, depreciation from aging of persons not enrolled in school, depreciation from deaths, and a residual term that includes net migration and measurement error. The study also discusses the cost-based approach of measurement in human capital of Kendrick (1976) and compares investment in education between the cost and income approaches. The stock of human capital rose at an annual rate of 1.0 per cent between 1977 and 2013, with population growth as the primary driver of human capital growth. Per capita human capital remained much the same over this period, with the effect of greater levels of education being offset by the effect of an aging population. Accounting for human capital continues to be Cet article poursuit les recherches initiées dans Christian (2010, 2014) sur la mesure des stocks de capital humain et l’investissement aux États-Unis. Il élabore des estimations d’une série de stock de capital humain et d’investissement net de 1975 à 2013, en utilisant l’approche des revenus sur la durée de vie de Jorgenson et Fraumeni (1989, 1992). La série décompose l’investissement net en investissement lié aux naissances, investissement dans l’éducation net du vieillissement des personnes scolarisées, amortissement lié au vieillissement des personnes non scolarisées, amortissement lié aux décès et un terme résiduel incluant la migration nette et l’erreur de mesure. Le stock de capital humain a augmenté à un taux annuel de 1,0 % entre 1977 et 2013, la croissance démographique étant le principal facteur. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-33-8-Christian.pdf)