Measuring education in the century of change

Markus Speringer, Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU)
Anne Goujon, Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU)
Samir K.C., Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU)
Michaela Potancokova, Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU)

This paper describes our approach to establish a Historical Human Capital Database based on two major efforts: First, the collection, harmonization and validation of datasets on educational attainment by age and sex in the 20th century and second, the reconstruction of the gaps in the data time series based on the multi-dimensional cohort-component projection method, that can be used for back-projecting populations. The resulting database shall help in assessing the role of education in the major transformations witnessed during the 20th century whether they were political, social, economic, or demographic. Beside the expected output of the Historical Human Capital Database we will present our methodological approaches, like the multi-dimensional cohort component model, the validation and harmonization procedure for selected countries: Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom & USA With the establishment of this database we aim to provide a more comprehensive picture of the global educational composition of the past to give a better picture about the future developments.