Human potential: conceptual approaches and measurement methods
Research Article
-
Vyacheslav V. Lokosov
Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population of the FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia
vvlokos@yandex.ru
ORCID ID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3656-2112
Elibrary Author_id 73766How to CiteLokosov V.V. Human potential: conceptual approaches and measurement methods. Population. 2023. Vol. 26. No. 4. P. 4-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2023.26.4.1
Abstract
In the conditions of the emergence of a new technological, and perhaps also social, structure, the main source of national wealth is considered to be «human potential», because the main sectors of economy are education, healthcare, science and culture, which form the so-called knowledge economy. The article is devoted to study of human potential: genesis of this concept, its definition and measurement techniques. It is substantiated that the concept of «human potential» is one of the key, integral ones for study and diagnosis of social processes. It needs a broad interpretation and cannot be reduced to purely economic concepts such as «human capital», «human resources», «labor potential» or «human potential of economy». It is necessary to distinguish between «quality of life» and «human potential» and consider the first as a means, and the second as the end, understanding that improving the quality of life does not necessarily entail increasing the quality of the population and vice versa. The author’s definition of human potential and a 5-stage model for its implementation are given. In the case of an increase in the useful effect of potential realization, the quantitative characteristics of the population, which primarily include demographic characteristics, will lose their importance compared to the qualitative ones. The work assessed domestic experience in human potential research and identified methodological approaches to its measurement using statistical indicators. It is proposed, on the basis of expert assessments and calculations, to use the method of extremely critical (threshold) indicators to assess human potential. Based on this method, a preliminary conclusion is made about the weakening of human potential, because over the past 30 years, not a single problem of expanded reproduction of a healthy, primarily indigenous population has been solved. The main results of the study can be used in developing activities in the field of strengthening Russian human potential and its implementation.Keywords:human potential, human capital, quality of life, demographic potential, labor potential, population reproduction, measurement techniquesReferences
1. Kurgansky S. A. Struktura chelovecheskogo kapitala i yego otsenka na makrourovne [Structure of human capital and its assessment at macro level]. Izvestiya Irkutskoy gosudarstvennoy ekonomicheskoy akademii [Proceedings of the Irkutsk State Academy of Economics]. 2011. No. 6. P. 15–22. (in Russ.)
2. Gorshkov M. K. Neekonomicheskiye faktory ekonomicheskogo rosta: neispol’zovannyye rezervy [Non-economic factors of economic growth: untapped reserves]. Gumanitarnyye nauki [Humanities and Social Sciences]. 2013. No. 2(10). P. 33–43. (in Russ.)
3. Putin V. V. Stroitel’stvo spravedlivosti. Sotsial’naya politika dlya Rossii [Building justice. Social policy for Russia]. Available at: htpp://archive.premier.gov.ru/events/news/18071 (Accessed: 28 October 2023). (in Russ.)
4. Ot kachestva zhizni — k kachestvu narodonaseleniya. [From Quality of Life to Quality of Population]. Proceedings of the Conference within the framework of the VI Moscow Economic Forum (Moscow, March 23, 2016). Ed. V. V. Lokosov. Moscow. Variant. Publisher A. G. Shimansky. 2017. 144 p. (in Russ.)
5. Rimashevskaya N. M. Chelovecheskiy potentsial Rossii i problemy «sberezheniya naseleniya» [The human potential of Russia and the problems of «saving the population»]. Rossiyskiy ekonomicheskiy zhurnal [Russian Economic Journal]. 2004. No. 9–10. P. 22–40. (in Russ.)
6. Chelovecheskiy potentsial: opyt kompleksnogo podkhoda [Human Potential: The Experience of an Integrated Approach]. Ed. I. T. Frolov. Moscow. URSS. 1999. 176 p. (in Russ.)
7. Rimashevskaya N. M. Kachestvo chelovecheskogo potentsiala Rossii kak strategicheskaya tsel’ [Quality of the Russia’s human potential as a strategic goal]. Narodonaselenie [Population]. 2004. No. 3. P. 17–27. (in Russ.)
8. Soboleva I. V. Chelovecheskiy potentsial rossiyskoy ekonomiki. Problemy sokhraneniya i razvitiya [Human Potential of the Russian Economy. Problems of Conservation and Development]. Moscow. Nauka [Science]. 2007. 202 p. (in Russ.)
9. Ryumina E. V. Naseleniye ne tol’ko kak ekonomicheskiy resurs: ponyatiye chelovecheskogo potentsiala v shirokom smysle [Population not only as an economic resource: the concept of human potential in a broad sense]. Narodonaselenie [Population]. 2022. Vol. 25. No. 2. P. 19–27. (in Russ.)
10. Glazyev S. Yu., Lokosov V. V. Otsenka predel’no kriticheskikh znacheniy pokazateley sostoyaniya rossiyskogo obshchestva i ikh ispol’zovaniye v upravlenii sotsial’no-ekonomicheskim razvitiyem [Evaluating extremely critical indicators of the state of Russian society and managing socio-economic development with them]. Vestnik Rossiyskoy akademii nauk [Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. 2012. Vol. 82. No. 7. P. 587–614. (in Russ.)
11. Rimashevskaya N. M., Migranova L. A., Toksanbaeva M. S. Chelovecheskiy i trudovoy potentsial rossiyskikh regionov [Human and labor potential of the Russian regions]. Narodonaselenie [Population]. 2014. No. 3. P. 106–119. (in Russ.)
12. Lokosov V. V., Ryumina E. V., Ulyanov V. V. Regional’naya differentsiatsiya pokazateley chelovecheskogo potentsiala [Regional differentiation of human potential indicators]. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of Regions]. 2015. No. 4. P. 185–196. (in Russ.)
13. Ryumina E. V. Kachestvennyye kharakteristiki naseleniya i sostoyaniye ekonomiki: analiz otdel’nykh grupp regionov Rossii [Qualitative characteristics of population and the state of the economy: analysis of certain groups of Russian regions]. Narodonaselenie [Population]. 2020. No. 3. P. 16–26. (in Russ.)
14. Glazyev S. Yu. Upravleniye razvitiyem ekonomiki: kurs lektsiy [Management of Economic Development: a Course of Lectures]. Moscow. 2019. 759 p. (in Russ).
ArticleReceived: 01.10.2023
Accepted: 06.12.2023
Citation FormatsOther cite formats:
APALokosov, V. V. (2023). Human potential: conceptual approaches and measurement methods. Population, 26(4), 4-14. https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2023.26.4.1SectionDEMOGRAPHY: THEORY AND PRACTICE ISSUES
