The Death of Human Capital?: Its Failed Promise and How to Renew It in an Age of Disruption
Phillip Brown, Hugh Lauder, and Sin Yi Cheung
Abstract
Human capital theory, 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. This book describes the development of human capital theory and why it has turned into a failed revolution. It outlines an alternative theory that re-defines human capital in an age of smart machines. The new human capital rejects the view that automation and AI will result in the end of waged work, but sees the fundamental problem as a lack of quality jobs offering interesting, w ... More
Human capital theory, 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. This book describes the development of human capital theory and why it has turned into a failed revolution. It outlines an alternative theory that re-defines human capital in an age of smart machines. The new human capital rejects the view that automation and AI will result in the end of waged work, but sees the fundamental problem as a lack of quality jobs offering interesting, worthwhile and rewarding opportunities. At stake in the new human capital are the future prospects for individual wellbeing in productive, sustainable and inclusive societies. It also connects with a growing sense that capitalism is in crisis, felt by students and the wider workforce, in offering a sober assessment of current realities at the same time as a sense of hope for the future.
Keywords:
human capital theory,
education policy,
labor markets,
labor,
income inequalities,
schooling,
academic credentials,
future of work,
education and technology
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2020 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190644307 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2020 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190644307.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Phillip Brown, author
Distinguished Research Professor, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
Hugh Lauder, author
Professor, Department of Education, University of Bath
Sin Yi Cheung, author
Reader in Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
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