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Quantifying Quantitative Literacy: Age Heaping and the History of Human Capital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

Brian A'Hearn ,
Jörg Baten  and
Dorothee Crayen
Brian A'Hearn*
Affiliation:
Pembroke College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1DW, United Kingdom. E-mail: brian.ahearn@pmb.ox.ac.uk.
Jörg Baten*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Tuebingen, Mohlstrasse 36, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany. E-mails: joerg.baten@uni-tuebingen.de and dorothee.crayen@uni-tuebingen.de.
Dorothee Crayen*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Tuebingen, Mohlstrasse 36, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany. E-mails: joerg.baten@uni-tuebingen.de and dorothee.crayen@uni-tuebingen.de.
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Abstract

Age data frequently display excess frequencies at attractive numbers, such as multiples of five. We use this “age heaping” to measure cognitive ability in quantitative reasoning, or “numeracy.” We construct a database of age heaping estimates with exceptional geographic and temporal coverage, and demonstrate a robust correlation of literacy and numeracy, where both can be observed. Extending the temporal and geographic range of our knowledge of human capital, we show that Western Europe had already diverged from the east and reached high numeracy levels by 1600, long before the rise of mass schooling or the onset of industrialization.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 69 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 783 - 808
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2009

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References

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