Over the past decade, many countries have made important progress in improving human capital

DATA FOR SELECTED COUNTRIES SHOW HOW DISADVANTAGED HOUSEHOLDS SHARED IN
HUMAN CAPITAL GAINS
National averages also mask differential trends in human capital between richer and poorer households.
Using household data from Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, it
is possible to calculate a version of the HCI disaggregated by socioeconomic status (SES) for a number of
low-and middle-income countries. Countries vary substantially in how gains in human-capital outcomes
are distributed across the population.6 For instance, Haiti, Malawi, and Senegal all improved their child
survival rates over the last decade. However, the gap between rich and poor households in Haiti remained
constant, while it decreased in Malawi and Senegal.7 Similarly, the years of schooling a child could expect
in Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, and India increased significantly. But in Burkina Faso the six-year gap in
Expected Years of Schooling (EYS) between rich and poor households has stayed constant over the past
10 years, while in the same period Bangladesh and India—albeit starting from different levels—were
able to halve the gap between their richest and poorest households. Côte d’Ivoire’s 25 percentage-point
gap between stunting rates for rich and poor households remained unchanged, notwithstanding a significant
average reduction in stunting. Conversely, Uganda was able to narrow this gap from a difference
of 20 to 16 percentage points between 2000 and 2016. Addressing such rich-poor gaps in human capital
must remain a priority for governments committed to equitable growth, not least because the returns to
investment in human capital are often highest for disadvantaged groups, especially for measures that act
early in life.
Human capital is a central driver of sustainable growth and poverty reduction. However, even for governments
that recognize the importance of investing in the human capital of their citizens, the process of designing policy and building institutions that foster human capital accumulation can be complex, with the full benefits taking years and even decades to materialize. This is evidenced in the relatively modest progress measured for the average country on the HCI over the last decade. Adopting a longer timeframe can help identify many forms of government action that can improve human capital. For that purpose, this report incorporates insights from case studies to better understand the trajectories of countries that have made notable improvements in various dimensions of human capital. Sustained political commitment spanning election cycles; coordination across the many programs and agencies that may influence human capital; and using a robust evidence base to inform policy choices emerge as key elements contributing to successful policies for human capital.