Human Capital


Book Description

A diverse array of factors may influence both earnings and consumption; however, this work primarily focuses on the impact of investments in human capital upon an individual's potential earnings and psychic income. For this study, investments in human capital include such factors as educational level, on-the-job skills training, health care, migration, and consideration of issues regarding regional prices and income. Taking into account varying cultures and political regimes, the research indicates that economic earnings tend to be positively correlated to education and skill level. Additionally, studies indicate an inverse correlation between education and unemployment. Presents a theoretical overview of the types of human capital and the impact of investment in human capital on earnings and rates of return. Then utilizes empirical data and research to analyze the theoretical issues related to investment in human capital, specifically formal education. Considered are such issues as costs and returns of investments, and social and private gains of individuals. The research compares and contrasts these factors based upon both education and skill level. Areas of future research are identified, including further analysis of issues regarding social gains and differing levels of success across different regions and countries. (AKP).




The Economics of Education


Book Description

In an important contribution to educational policy, Daniele Checchi offers an economic perspective on the demand and supply of education. He explores the reasons why, beyond a certain point, investment in education has not resulted in reductions in social inequalities. Starting with the seminal work of Gary Becker, Checchi provides an extensive survey of the literature on human capital and social capital formation. He draws on individual data on intergenerational transmission of income and education for the USA, Germany and Italy, as well as aggregate data on income and educational inequality for a much wider range of countries. Checchi explores whether resources spent in education are effective in raising students' achievement, as well as analysing alternative ways of financing education. The Economics of Education thus provides the analytical tools necessary to understand the complex relationships between current income inequality, access to education and future inequality.




The Race between Education and Technology


Book Description

This book provides a careful historical analysis of the co-evolution of educational attainment and the wage structure in the United States through the twentieth century. The authors propose that the twentieth century was not only the American Century but also the Human Capital Century. That is, the American educational system is what made America the richest nation in the world. Its educational system had always been less elite than that of most European nations. By 1900 the U.S. had begun to educate its masses at the secondary level, not just in the primary schools that had remarkable success in the nineteenth century. The book argues that technological change, education, and inequality have been involved in a kind of race. During the first eight decades of the twentieth century, the increase of educated workers was higher than the demand for them. This had the effect of boosting income for most people and lowering inequality. However, the reverse has been true since about 1980. This educational slowdown was accompanied by rising inequality. The authors discuss the complex reasons for this, and what might be done to ameliorate it.




International Handbook on the Economics of Education


Book Description

. . . is a voluminous and timely collection of 18 essays that addresses a number of core issues on the economics of education. . . An exhaustive survey of the literature on the role of universities as multi-product firms at various levels and disciplines identifies the nature of the economies of scope and scale. This enriches the volume further. Economic Analysis & Policy . . . the endeavour of bringing together very knowledgeable contributors, including some of the leading contributors to the literature in the UK and beyond, to write a handbook on the economics of education is highly appreciated. The Handbook contains 18 substantive chapters, encapsulated by a brief introduction and an extensive and a very useful index. . . the Handbook should be praised as a useful overview of the field of economics of education as it stands today. Ludger Wößmann, Economic Issues This major Handbook comprehensively surveys the rapidly growing field of the economics of education. It is unique in that it comprises original contributions on an exceptional range of topics from a review of human capital, signalling and screening models, to consideration of issues such as educational externalities and economic growth, funding models, determinants of educational success, the educational production function, educational standards and efficiency measurement. Labour market issues such as the market for teachers and the transition of students from school to work are also explored. The International Handbook on the Economics of Education will be warmly welcomed by academic economists, educational researchers and practitioners in educational management as well as policymakers. Comprising specially commissioned articles, the Handbook will become indispensable reference for this ever topical field of study.




A New Education for a New Economy: From Human Capital to Human Flourishing


Book Description

Providing an in-depth, novel analysis of education’s role in today’s economy by scrutinizing its theoretical underpinnings, this volume critiques the suitability of the current, dominant economic framework for education and for shaping educational policymaking worldwide. Critically examining the history and philosophy that underpin our present societal understanding of the link between economics and education, the book argues for an urgent redefining of education’s role in the economy based on intellectual foundations that significantly differ from our current, dominant conceptions. Across seven chapters, the book posits that the adoption of a new philosophical framework, the reshaping of economic and educational aims, and the adjustment of our educational system are each necessary to better promote human flourishing. Ultimately providing a platform to entirely reconsider the idea that the primary aim of education is to serve the economic system – in particular, economic growth – this book will appeal to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students studying educational policy, the philosophy of education, and the history of education more broadly. Education policymakers and academics studying education and the economy may also find this book of interest.




The Death of Human Capital?


Book Description

Human capital theory, or the notion that there is a direct relationship between educational investment and individual and national prosperity, has dominated public policy on education and labor for the past fifty years. In The Death of Human Capital?, Phillip Brown, Hugh Lauder, and Sin Yi Cheung argue that the human capital story is one of false promise: investing in learning isn't the road to higher earnings and national prosperity. Rather than abandoning human capital theory, however, the authors redefine human capital in an age of smart machines. They present a new human capital theory that rejects the view that automation and AI will result in the end of waged work, but see the fundamental problem as a lack of quality jobs offering interesting, worthwhile, and rewarding opportunities. A controversial challenge to the reigning ideology, The Death of Human Capital? connects with a growing sense that capitalism is in crisis, felt by students and the wider workforce, shows what's at stake in the new human capital while offering hope for the future.




Handbook of Labor Economics


Book Description

A guide to the continually evolving field of labour economics.




Economization of Education


Book Description

In this timely, cogent analysis of trends and powerful forces shaping global educational policy today, Joel Spring focuses on how economization is making economic growth and increased productivity the main goals of schools, and the ways these goals are achieved—including measuring educational policies by their costs and economic benefits, shaping family life to ensure productive workers and high-achieving students, introducing entrepreneurship education into curricula from preschool through higher education, and increasing the involvement of economists in educational policy analysis. Close attention is given to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and multinational corporations, which, as advocates of economization, want schools to focus on teaching hard and soft skills needed by the global labor market. Economization raises questions about the effects of economically driven agendas for schools: Will education policies advocated by global organizations and multinational businesses corporatize and standardize human personalities and families? What type of global worker is being sought by global organizations and multinational corporations? What education programs are supported to educate the ideal global worker? What is the ideal family life for economic growth and development? Detailing and analyzing the politics and motivations driving economization, the book concludes with an assessment of the impacts of the confluence of business interests, economic theories, governments, and educators.




"Are Economists Basically Immoral?"


Book Description

""Art Economists Basically Immoral?" and Other Essays on Economics, Ethics, and Religion is a collection of Heyne's essays focused on an issue that preoccupied him throughout his life and which concerns many free-market skeptics - namely, how to reconcile the apparent selfishness of a free-market economy with ethical behavior." "Written with the nonexpert in mind, and in a highly engaging style, these essays will interest students of economics, professional economists with an interest in ethical and theological topics, and Christians who seek to explore economic issues."--BOOK JACKET.




Immigration Economics


Book Description

Millions of people—nearly 3 percent of the world’s population—no longer live in the country where they were born. Every day, migrants enter not only the United States but also developed countries without much of a history of immigration. Some of these nations have switched in a short span of time from being the source of immigrants to being a destination for them. International migration is today a central subject of research in modern labor economics, which seeks to put into perspective and explain this historic demographic transformation. Immigration Economics synthesizes the theories, models, and econometric methods used to identify the causes and consequences of international labor flows. Economist George Borjas lays out with clarity and rigor a full spectrum of topics, including migrant worker selection and assimilation, the impact of immigration on labor markets and worker wages, and the economic benefits and losses that result from immigration. Two important themes emerge: First, immigration has distributional consequences: some people gain, but some people lose. Second, immigrants are rational economic agents who attempt to do the best they can with the resources they have, and the same holds true for native workers of the countries that receive migrants. This straightforward behavioral proposition, Borjas argues, has crucial implications for how economists and policymakers should frame contemporary debates over immigration.