Lectures on human capital by gary becker this series of lectures recorded during the spring of 2010 are from econ 343 human capital, a class taught every year by gary becker at the university of chicago. Recipient of the 1992 nobel prize in economic science, gary s. This perspective is important in understanding both investment incentives, and the structure of wages and earnings. In human capital 1964, he argued that an individuals investment in education and training is analogous to a companys investment in new machinery or equipment. A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. One of the most significant strands of that research was that which focused on human capital, occuping a significant part of his career, especially in his early years. In a prolific and illustrious career, the late gary becker 19302014 developed what he would later call the economic approach to human behaviour. Human capital is beckers classic study of how investment in an individuals education and training is similar to business investments in equipment. Becker, who won the nobel prize for having extended the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and.
A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to. A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education, second edition. This pdf is a selection from an outofprint volume from. Becker to most people capital means a bank account, a hundred shares of ibm stock, assembly lines, or steel plants in the chicago area. As stated in the introduction to the first edition of his. Gary beckers work on human capital started around 1960. In this paper we will focus on beckers early work in. The ones marked may be different from the article in the profile. Gary becker, who greg mankiw rightly describes as one of the greatest economists, has passed away. In studies such as a treatise on the family 1981, becker analyzed the household as a sort of factory, producing goods. In this class, becker expounds upon the theory of human capital that he helped create and for which he won the nobel prize. I know beckers research indirectly, for the most part.
A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education, third edition 1994, gary s. I published my first paper on investment in human capital in 1960. Becker is a pioneer of applying economic analysis to human behavior in such areas as discrimination, marriage, family relations, and. General issues one of the most important ideas in labor economics is to think of the set of marketable skills of workers as a form of capital in which workers make a variety of investments. It was motivated by the rising interest in economic growth at the time. Gary beckers early work on human capital collaborations.
If you havent had the opportunity to read any of his work, there is a list of great openaccess papers at marginal revolution i was reading gary beckers encyclopedia entry at econlog. The family is responsible for most of the investment in their childrens human capital. Gary becker, and the theory of human capital economic. The first person who has introduced the concept of human capital is gary s. Becker is a pioneer of applying economic analysis to human behavior in such areas as discrimination, marriage, family relations, and education. The basic theory of human capital london school of. Human capital gary becker first edition signed rare book.
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