ABSTRACT

This paper studies the evolution of numeracy in Chile for cohorts born from the 1780s to the 1970s, providing a new series of this important indicator of human capital, essential to promote economic growth. This is the longest series currently available of any human capital indicator for Chile. It shows that numeracy was very low until the early twentieth century but that, contrary to traditional interpretations, it increased gradually from the 1780s (well before the promulgation of the primary instruction law of 1860), until full basic numeracy skills were achieved by the mid-twentieth century. This transition was completed some 3–4 decades after parallel developments occurred in the leading countries of the region and some 120 years behind the most developed areas of Europe. This development was characterized by high gender numeracy inequality until the first decades of the twentieth century, as well as by a pronounced regional inequality. However, there was a quick process of convergence across provinces, completed at the same time as gender inequality was reduced. Our numeracy data is also consistent with alternative human capital indicators such as literacy and schooling, and we provide a set of explanations about why they all improved, and their timing.

摘要

本文研究了智利 1780 年代至 1970 年代出生人群的算术演变，提供了一系列新的人力资本重要指标，对于促进经济增长至关重要。这是目前智利所有人力资本指标中最长的系列。它表明，直到 20 世纪初，算术能力非常低，但与传统解释相反，它从 1780 年代（远在 1860 年基本教学法颁布之前）逐渐增加，直到中-二十世纪。这一转变是在该地区主要国家发生平行发展后大约 3-4 年完成的，比欧洲最发达地区落后大约 120 年。直到 20 世纪最初的几十年，这种发展的特点是性别计算能力的高度不平等，以及明显的区域不平等。然而，各省之间出现了一个快速的趋同过程，同时完成了性别不平等的减少。我们的算术数据也与其他人力资本指标（如识字率和受教育程度）一致，我们提供了一系列解释，说明为什么它们都得到了改善，以及它们的时间。