A multi-criteria measurement and assessment of human capital development in EU-27 countries: A 10-year perspective

In today's global economy and across various types of organizations, human capital is a fundamental resource that determines their existence and development. This is particularly important in the context of ongoing climate-technological transformation processes based on innovative solutions. The role and importance of personal resources are well understood in the EU-27 countries, which base their future on competent human capital. This paper addresses this critical and timely topic by assessing human capital in the EU-27 countries over the period 2013–2022. The research aims to evaluate these countries' human capital potential, distinguishing between the "new EU-13" and the "old EU-14" countries, and to measure the effectiveness of its development during the study period. A crucial part of the research was to determine the impact of human capital on selected indicators of economic growth, innovation, and sustainable development. To achieve these objectives, an original research methodology was developed, employing the COPRAS method to determine the human capital assessment index and the equal weights and CRITIC methods to establish the weights of indicators characterizing the studied human capital. The impact assessment of this capital, along with innovation and unemployment on economic growth, was conducted using an econometric model. Meanwhile, correlations between the human capital assessment index and the indicators characterizing innovation, economic growth, and sustainability were analyzed using Spearman's non-parametric tests. The results show significant variation in human capital between the EU-27 countries and between the "old EU-14" and "new EU-13" groups. The Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden achieved the best results in terms of human capital development, while Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria had the weakest outcomes. In contrast, Cyprus, Malta, and Portugal recorded the greatest progress during the review period. These results offer extensive opportunities for multidimensional inference and can be used to assess the current state of the EU-27 economy. They should also inform the development of strategies for individual countries and the EU-27 as a whole.