Human capital : a critique
Human Capital Theory argues that a person's formal education determines his or her earning power. This article seeks to highlight the discrepancies surrounding the notion that education should be construed as a direct form of investment in one's financial future. An analysis of the use of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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2004
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.utm.my/1119/ http://eprints.utm.my/1119/1/RossilahJamil2004_HumanCapitalACritique.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848890068397195264 |
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| author | Jamil, Rossilah |
| author_facet | Jamil, Rossilah |
| author_sort | Jamil, Rossilah |
| building | UTeM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Human Capital Theory argues that a person's formal education determines his or her earning power. This article seeks to highlight the discrepancies surrounding the notion that education should be construed as a direct form of investment in one's financial future. An analysis of the use of quantitative techniques in measuring human capital, particularly the full / elaborate and the regression methods is presented. The ways in which returns are measured by using the full / elaborate method and regression method are explained and a critical assessment of their applications is discussed. There are several reasons to dispute the notion that one's education influences earnings. The first is that non-educational factors also influence earnings. Secondly, there are weaknesses in the way 'benefits' and 'costs' of education in Human Capital research are defined. Thirdly, there is skepticism of the indicators of social benefits claimed to have resulted from investment in education. Fourthly, limitations of data sources generally used in Human Capital research tend to distort reality. And finally, weaknesses are inherent in the way that Human Capital research is conducted due to its nature as an economic research |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T20:36:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | utm-1119 |
| institution | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T20:36:12Z |
| publishDate | 2004 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | utm-11192010-08-25T02:51:54Z http://eprints.utm.my/1119/ Human capital : a critique Jamil, Rossilah H Social Sciences (General) HA Statistics Human Capital Theory argues that a person's formal education determines his or her earning power. This article seeks to highlight the discrepancies surrounding the notion that education should be construed as a direct form of investment in one's financial future. An analysis of the use of quantitative techniques in measuring human capital, particularly the full / elaborate and the regression methods is presented. The ways in which returns are measured by using the full / elaborate method and regression method are explained and a critical assessment of their applications is discussed. There are several reasons to dispute the notion that one's education influences earnings. The first is that non-educational factors also influence earnings. Secondly, there are weaknesses in the way 'benefits' and 'costs' of education in Human Capital research are defined. Thirdly, there is skepticism of the indicators of social benefits claimed to have resulted from investment in education. Fourthly, limitations of data sources generally used in Human Capital research tend to distort reality. And finally, weaknesses are inherent in the way that Human Capital research is conducted due to its nature as an economic research 2004-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.utm.my/1119/1/RossilahJamil2004_HumanCapitalACritique.pdf Jamil, Rossilah (2004) Human capital : a critique. Jurnal Kemanusiaan (4). pp. 10-16. ISSN 1675-1930 |
| spellingShingle | H Social Sciences (General) HA Statistics Jamil, Rossilah Human capital : a critique |
| title | Human capital : a critique |
| title_full | Human capital : a critique |
| title_fullStr | Human capital : a critique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human capital : a critique |
| title_short | Human capital : a critique |
| title_sort | human capital : a critique |
| topic | H Social Sciences (General) HA Statistics |
| url | http://eprints.utm.my/1119/ http://eprints.utm.my/1119/1/RossilahJamil2004_HumanCapitalACritique.pdf |