Addressing the Human Capital Crisis : A Public Expenditure Review for Human Development Sectors in Iraq
Iraq, at present, is facing a human capital crisis, despite having been one of the early investors in health and education, in the MENA region, in the 70s and 80s. The World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI), shows that a child born in Iraq, today,...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/568141622306648034/Addressing-the-Human-Capital-Crisis-A-Public-Expenditure-Review-for-Human-Development-Sectors-in-Iraq http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35648 |
| Summary: | Iraq, at present, is facing a human
capital crisis, despite having been one of the early
investors in health and education, in the MENA region, in
the 70s and 80s. The World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI),
shows that a child born in Iraq, today, will reach, on
average, only 41 percent of her potential productivity when
she grows up, compared to the 57- percent average of the
MENA region. The HCI measures the amount of human capital
that a child, born today, can expect to attain at the age of
18, thereby conveying the productivity of the next
generation of a country’s workforce—a key contributor to
economic growth. Iraq’s HCI is among the lowest in the
world, and is lower than that of any country in the MENA
region, with the exception of Yemen. In addition, large
disparities in human capital outcomes persist between
regions, and between urban and rural areas, to the
disadvantage of northern governorates most affected by the
conflicts. Women, Internally Displaced People (IDP), and
families with very low incomes, are further disadvantaged. |
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