A region’s development options depend on the proper management of its total resources and the quantity available, in terms of capital goods produced (machinery, infrastructure, etc.), natural resources and the human capital of its population. In this last case, the only estimates existing for the Spanish economy were those drawn up by the World Bank for the country as a whole and confined to a few years only. The aim of this book is accordingly to calculate the value of human capital in Spain and its autonomous regions starting from the year 2000.

In doing so, the authors have made use of a broad set of data on salaries, labor performance, demographic characteristics and educational patterns broken down by region, distinguishing in each case up to 1,360 types of activity. Human capital series have been estimated using standard methodologies compliant with the latest international practices, ensuring their comparability with the figures and criteria of National Accounts.

The results obtained signpost the development possibilities of Spain and its regions over the next few decades, which will depend heavily on the performance of human capital. They also highlight areas of risk and opportunity in its future evolution, including population ageing, the labor market and productivity. These human capital series complement the series on capital stock in Spain and its regions produced over more than twenty years as part of the longstanding collaboration between the BBVA Foundation and the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (Ivie).

The database accompanying the book expands on the hitherto limited information available on the subject.

This publication will provide researchers, policymakers in different branches of government and society in general with new insights into fundamental aspects of the performance of human capital in Spain and its autonomous regions over the last twenty years.