Literature Review on Human Development, Human Capital, Agriculture and Rural Development

Abstract

In this chapter, the basic concepts and issues of human development, human capital, agriculture and rural development are reviewed from existing research. In agriculture as in other sectors, innovation is the main driver of productivity growth and entrepreneurial human capital plays a relatively more important role in intermediate-income countries. On the other hand, there is the dimension of “quantity and quality” in agriculture and rural development, in which the quantitative aspect includes the increase in wealth, income level, and availability of assets or services, and the qualitative aspect includes the realization of social welfare, creation of employment opportunities, sustainable development, and improvement in the quality of life. Social innovation that meets social need, that engages and mobilizes its beneficiaries, and that to some extent transforms social relations by improving beneficiaries’ access to power and resources provides new solutions to social problems that are especially complex in the time of crisis.