This paper starts a conversation on the value of New Zealand's human capital stock. It adopts a definition of human capital as "an individual's skills, knowledge, mental and physical health that enable them to participate fully in work, study, recreation, and in society more broadly".

This discussion paper adds to the set of Living Standards Discussion Papers released in February 2018. Compared to the capitals covered in the February papers - human, natural and social - financial/physical capital is relatively more straight-forward given existing measurement frameworks such...