Human Capital in European Regions since the French Revolution: Lessons for Economic and Education Policies

Human capital is today an important determinant of economic growth. However, evidence on its long-run regional development in Europe is still relatively limited. For this reason, this paper investigates the development of human capital in the European regions over the last 200 years. The results show that ‘the long shadow of history’ plays a major role in the regional distribution of human capital. The most advanced regions were typically located in the core industrialised countries, whereas the lowest values of human capital were found in the periphery. Policy makers need to take into account these geographical long-term structures and the vested interests of stakeholders and create a human capital-promoting environment to successfully improve human capital levels.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen