Retrospective of the human capital theory development

Abstract

The challenges that Ukraine has faced in recent years have created a real threat to its existence. To effectively counter the current situation, it is required to find resources that would allow Ukraine to win the war, recover and become a free and economically developed state. One of these extremely important resources is human capital. The evolution of the human capital theory in the works of world and domestic scientists is investigated in this article. The main components of human capital and their importance in the multiplication of national wealth are highlighted. It is demonstrated that the origins of the evolution of the human capital theory reach the works of ancient thinkers. However, the design of the concept into a separate human capital theory took place only in the 60s of the XX century. It has been established that representatives of all schools and directions in economic science agree that human knowledge and abilities are one of the most important sources of the nation’s wealth, and investments in science and education are the most promising and profitable. All these improvements serve as the important information base for modern economic science and determine the prospects for further study in this direction.