Services from Human Capital
(billion 2012 $)
Services from Human
Capital
Services from Higher Education
Library Services
Value of Public Art, Music, and Theater
What are we measuring?
We get many benefits from human knowledge and creativity, which can be
measured through investment in the arts, libraries, and benefits derived from
higher education.
Trends 2012-2019
As a category, Services from Human Capital increased by 24%% from 2012 to 2019 and held constant from 2018 to 2019. Services from higher education increased a similar percentage during that time period, which makes up over 95% of this category. Services from the arts declined slightly over this period while library services increased.
- Higher Education
Services from higher education increased by 25%% from 2012 to 2019. Maryland Ready - a state plan for post secondary education - along with other programs to aid students in finances and accessibility, contributed to the increasing percentage of Marylanders with Bachelor or advanced degrees over this period.
Calculation
The calculation of benefits from higher education has been maintained from GPI
1.0, please refer to this
page for methodology.
These benefits do not include additional wages, as this would potentially double
count with budget expenditures, but are “spill-over” benefits, which include a
lower rate of criminal activity, higher rates of community participation and
volunteerism, and better health. The benefits from libraries are calculating by
estimating the market value of materials circulated by the Maryland public
library system. Circulation statistics retrieved from here and the market
values were conservatively estimate as $15 per book, $14 per audiobook, $3 per
video, $4.50 per periodical, and $9 per miscellaneous media. The only spending
on the arts considered here is by non-profits, again to avoid double counting
with household and governmental expenditures. These data are taken from the Arts
& Economic Prosperity IV report from Americans for the Arts.
