Human capital, education and the future : An historical review of theories of human capital and their continued relevance to the economics of education

Part of : Αρχείον οικονομικής ιστορίας ; Vol.XIX, No.2, 2007, pages 181-197

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Pages:
181-197
Author:
Abstract:
Modern conceptions of human capital theory, emerging from the middle part of the twentieth century, were and continue to be an important contribution to the development of contemporary economics. In the course of the twentieth century, the economics of education emerged as a discrete field in economics. In recent years, the Internet and other technologies have begun to change how education is and can be provided. Any economist considering this issue must also consider whether the work of the fathers of the human capital theory is still relevant today. In the opinion of this author, they are as relevant as ever; this article represents a call not to throw out the old when embracing the new. In arriving at this conclusion, it is also important to explore the positions of the various scholars who may loosely be termed “human capital sceptics”.
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Subject (LC):
Keywords:
economics of education, early educational economists, human capital
Notes:
JEL classification: I29, J24, N30