Human Capital Framework Research Articles

Innovation system approach to agricultural development: Policy implications for agricultural extension delivery in Nigeria

A sustainable and dynamic approach to agricultural development has remained of great concern to the government and priority for discourse in the policy arena. Past efforts have concentrated on investment in research and development which was established on the consensus that the application of science and technology is responsible for the structural transformation required to propel the agricultural sector. Public research and extension institutions are projected as the sole source of innovation/knowledge requisite to trigger development in the agricultural sector. Several other relevant macro economic and meso level factors such as policy and legislative framework and nature of human capital, physical infrastructure, finance and investment climate and system for facilitating information and knowledge flows were not considered as important. The emerging reforms and changes in knowledge structure of agriculture explicitly indicate that the traditional agricultural research and extension system alone cannot sufficiently address the challenges of the new trends. Innovation system approach offers a holistic and, multi-disciplinary approach to innovation and processes, incorporating emerging reforms and approaches for agricultural development. This paper concludes that government, policy makers, and administrators should invest and promote researches in sectors/sub sectors of economic and food security importance, using this analytical framework. Government should encourage and facilitate farmer and private sector innovative strength by enacting favourable polices (patenting and reward system) that will act as incentives. Institutional context of any innovation should be sufficiently analyzed by policy makers as requisite to promoting such innovation, while extension workers should build such information in technology packages to farmers.

Health and the Decision to Invest in Education

Summary The paper analyses the relationship between health and education in a two period human capital framework. The resulting substitution and investment effects between health and advanced training work in opposite direction and leave open questions for the empirical part. As econometric model we use a random effects probit model for panel data. Our data consist of 322 individuals for the two years 2004 and 2006. Thereby, we take into account that self-reported measures of health are usually vulnerable to a reporting bias due to anticipation and measurement errors. Estimation results show a dominant substitution effect between different levels of education, indicating that good health implies higher learning efficiency so that the same income can be achieved with lower investment in advanced training. In contrast, we find a dominant investment effect within an educational level, indicating that better health leads individuals with higher education to invest more in additional training.

Earnings differentiation in the tourism industry: Gender, human capital and socio-demographic effects

This paper draws attention to a somewhat neglected field within tourism research, namely the production side of tourism. Set within a human capital framework, the purpose of the study is to examine if and how the variables education, work experience and the socio-demographic variables parenthood and marriage affect Norwegian tourism employees’ annual wages in the 1994–2002 period. Furthermore, the study specifically examines how the variables gender and time affect these wages. Among several findings, four are of major importance. (1) Male tourism employees receive about 20% higher wages annually than their female counterparts, ceteris paribus. (2) There is a concave (i.e. inverted U) relationship between work experience and annual wages for both female and male employees, but this pattern is much less distinct for females. (3) Both parenthood and marriage affect wages, but their effects differ between male and female employees. (4) All tourism employees experience a positive annual wage development in the period studied.

A Quantitative Analysis of the Evolution of the U.S. Wage Distribution, 1970–2000

In this paper, we construct a parsimonious overlapping-generations model of human capital accumulation and study its quantitative implications for the evolution of the U.S. wage distribution from 1970 to 2000. A key feature of the model is that individuals differ in their ability to accumulate human capital, which is the main source of wage inequality in this model. We examine the response of this model to skill-biased technical change (SBTC), which is modeled as an increase in the trend growth rate of the price of human capital starting in the early 1970s. The model displays behavior that is consistent with several important trends observed in the US data, including the rise in overall wage inequality; the fall and subsequent rise in the college premium, as well as the fact that this behavior was most pronounced for younger workers; the rise in within-group inequality; the stagnation in median wage growth; and the small rise in consumption inequality despite the large rise in wage inequality. We consider different scenarios regarding how individuals' expectations evolve during SBTC. Specifically, we study the case where individuals immediately realize the advent of SBTC (perfect foresight), and the case where they initially underestimate the future growth of the price of human capital (pessimistic priors), but learn the truth in a Bayesian fashion over time. Lack of perfect foresight appears to have little effect on the main results of the paper. Overall, the model shows promise for explaining a diverse set of wage distribution trends observed since the 1970s in a unifying human capital framework.

Documenting and Assessing the Role of Community Colleges in Developing Human Capital

The 21st century community college is an institution that espouses the values of open-access and high quality education. The literature is filled with research that documents the extent to which these institutions contribute to society and to human capital development. The purpose of this article is three-fold: First, to apply a human capital framework to the community college context; second, to describe efforts by several states to document and assess their community colleges' contributions to human capital development; and third, to raise research and policy issues related to improving assessment of that role. The article concludes by addressing future research and policy implications.

Strengthening national capital: a postcolonial analysis of lifelong learning policy in St Lucia, Caribbean

This paper provides a postcolonial policy analysis of the Education Sector Development Plan: 2000–2005 and Beyond in the small Caribbean island nation of St Lucia. The specific focus is upon the nature of the lifelong learning policy as incorporated in the Plan. This is shown to be a globalised policy discourse. Drawing on a number of postcolonial theorists, the paper works with a concept of the postcolonial as an aspirational politics. Bourdieu’s concept of ‘national capital’ is also utilised in the analysis in relation to the attempt to manage some autonomy for the nation in the process of policy text production in education. The analysis demonstrates the way a postcolonial politics, manifest as strengthening national capital, worked in relation to the production of the Plan in its consultative mode of production and in its extensive cross‐sector coverage. However, the analysis also shows evidence of the effects of residues of the colonial past in the hegemony of English in the Plan’s recommendations, in the restriction of lifelong learning facilitation to schools and in the denial of a place for indigenous knowledges. The mode of lifelong learning supported is also dominated by a human capital framework and neglect of other capitals (social, cultural, etc.) for constituting what might be seen as a postcolonial and creole learning society. The paper also reflects upon the extent of the postcoloniality of the analysis provided.

The relationship between human capital and time performance in project management: A path analysis

Abstract This paper uses a causal path model to measure the relationship between project management human capital (PMHC) and project time performance. Human capital is an established branch of economic theory concerned with the value embodied in the firm’s human resources. Project managers’ knowledge and experience are considered important in determining project outcomes and these facets are assessed using a human capital framework. The path analysis confirms the central research hypothesis that performance will improve with increased investment in human capital. The results are significant because they confirm that the education and training of project managers is important in influencing the time delivery of construction projects.

WHAT DETERMINES MIGRATION FLOWS FROM LOW‐INCOME TO HIGH‐INCOME COUNTRIES? AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF FIJI–U.S. MIGRATION 1972–2001

This article examines the long‐run and short‐run determinants of migration from Fiji to the United States between 1972 and 2001 using a human capital framework, which is extended to take account of political instability in Fiji. In the long‐run the authors find that differences in income levels, disparities in police strength, disparities in the number of doctors, costs of moving, and political instability in Fiji are all statistically significant with the expected sign. In the short run the cost of moving, lagged migration, political instability, and differences in both police strength and medical care are the main determinants of Fiji–United States immigration. (JEL C22, F22)

Optimising human capital: measuring what really matters

PurposeHuman capital strategies are frequently canvassed in corporate boardrooms and executive suites but are not effectively implemented. This paper aims to identify core measures that senior management can use to increase the effectiveness of their investment in their people and improve organisational performance.Design/methodology/approachAn internationally researched framework for human capital capability is used as the basis of the paper. This is complemented by an international benchmarking initiative.FindingsFive key practices that effective organisations use to enhance performance are identified and current human capital practices of 175 organisations are benchmarked against these critical core indicators.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the international benchmarking sample does not represent a large number of participants, the pilot project provides significant feedback and identifies areas in which the management of human capital can be enhanced. Scope for further research into the relationship between organisational investment in human capital, future earnings and stock market pricing.Practical implicationsThe framework provides a basis for identifying areas for improving the relationship between an organisation's workforce investment and its overall business performance. It also facilitates the development of a road‐map for the human agenda that will have the greatest impact on the enterprise.Originality/valueAn international human capital framework that has been extensively researched and developed over a number of years in consultation with business leaders to assist senior corporate executives to increase the return on their investment in people and enhance corporate performance and profitability.

Young Women's Religious Affiliation and Participation as Determinants of High School Completion

The far-reaching consequences of failing to complete secondary schooling are well known. The central questions addressed in this study are: Does religion make a difference in the likelihood of successfully completing the transition to high-school graduation? If so, how large are the influences? Based on a human capital framework, the paper develops hypotheses about the effects of two dimensions of religion during childhood – affiliation and participation – and tests them with data on non-Hispanic white, African-American, and Hispanic female respondents from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. The results are generally consistent with the hypotheses, revealing sizeable differentials in high-school graduation rates by affiliation and participation. The results also uncover pronounced differences by race/ ethnicity.

Editiorial introduction: labour migration and the family in Asia

AbstractThis paper introduces a special issue on ‘Labour migration and the family in Asia’. It provides a brief review of economic approaches to labour migration, including some studies that have recognised the importance of the family in migration decision‐making. Most of this work continues to be based on a broad human capital framework and we highlight some of the limitations of such a theoretical model, including their failure to deal adequately with gender roles or the deeper structures that influence migration, such as globalisation, colonialism and national and local government policies. We also consider the importance of remittances in family‐related labour migration and their value in developing economies. In summary this paper, and the other papers selected for the special issue, contribute to the debate about the limitations of the human capital model, and help us to understand labour migration and the family in the Asian context. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT OF LABOR MARKET CONTEXT ON MARGINAL EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES

Transformation of the labor market creates a complex and dynamic environment where jobs and skills are exchanged. Studies suggest that contemporary industrial shifts provided less opportunity than in the past, and that technological change led to a complicated melange of employment outcomes. Many of the new jobs are characterized by a series of negative qualities related to income and hours. Accordingly, this analysis concentrates on inadequate employment through low-wage work and involuntary part-time work. I examine the effect of contextual factors, specifically area levels of occupational sex-segregation and the size of the service sector industry, on men and women's marginal employment outcomes. Several findings stand out. First, women post higher chances of working for low-wages than their male counterparts. However, employment in the expanding service sector does reduce men and women's chances of experiencing part-time work. Second, the protection afforded by individual level, human capital qualities remains relatively constant for women across metro areas, but labor market context significantly affects women's odds of employment marginalization. Context is not as salient for men, but the value of their personal attributes vary across labor markets. Finally, women working in areas with higher levels of occupational sex-segregation were relatively worse off than those in areas with more integration. Industrial restructuring clearly contributed to recent shifts in U.S. employment and inequality. Studies suggest that contemporary industrial shifts have provided less opportunity than in the past, greater inequality between rich and poor, and a complicated melange of inadequate employment outcomes (Colclough and Tolbert 1992; Farley 1996; Harrison and Bluestone 1988; Morris, Bernhardt, and Handcock 1994; Sassen 1994). Deindustrialization, as it is sometimes called, offers opportunity for highly-educated, skilled, or technologically-innovative men and women. However, lower skilled workers or those with less education may face relatively good job markets filled with positions that are low quality in terms of wages, hours, or benefits. This bifurcation of work is credited with not only reducing the sex-wage gap, but also increasing inequality within sex groups (Bernhardt, Morris, and Handcock 1995). By employing a new structuralist approach and focusing on the area opportunity structure, along with the traditional human capital framework, I link both the local labor market context and individual qualities that affect employment outcomes (Browne 1997; Cotter et al. 1997; McCall 2000). In this article, I examine the effect of contextual factors, specifically the area industrial composition and the openness of the labor market, on men and women's marginal employment outcomes during the early 1990s.

Managing human capital supply chain in the Internet era

The past decade has witnessed dramatic changes in the types and composition of the workforce. A greater number of employees are able to work from home. Job seekers have better access to available jobs today than ever before. Likewise, employers have greater access to available potential candidates. In this context, a variety of approaches including intelligent agents to facilitate the search for employment are reviewed. The impact of the Internet on human resources management from employees’ and employers’ perspectives and resulting trends are analyzed. Based on the author’s industry interactions and statistics, answers are sought to many pertinent questions relating to quality human resource initiatives to link with a technologically adept workforce. A human capital supply chain management framework is proposed which has decision‐support capability in an Internet environment that provides value‐based relationships between partners.

Is Mobility of Technical Personnel a Source of R&D Spillovers?

Labor mobility is considered to be an important source of knowledge externalities, making it difficult for firms to appropriate returns to research and development (R&D). Interfirm transfers of knowledge embodied in people should be analyzed within a human capital framework. Testing such a framework, I find that the technical staff in R&D‐intensive firms pays for the knowledge they accumulate on the job through lower wages early in their career. They later earn a return on these implicit investments through higher wages. This suggests that the potential externalities associated with labor mobility are, at least partially, internalized in the labor market.

German Job Mobility and Wages

The paper investigates the relative importance of job mobility for wages in comparison with human capital framework and the industry approach. Using German panel data, changes of workplaces within the firm as well as between the firms are carefully separated from occupational changes. Results suggest: Germans are much more flexible than is generally conjectured. The internal labor market is more important than the external labor market. The job approach is the most relevant determinant of earnings. Past mobility and sectoral and regional factors determine individual mobility.

Experimental Validation Of Propagation Models For Radiocommunications Applications In Industrial Environments

In this article, an overview is presented of the results obtained within a Project developed at Ansaldo (Naples, Italy) in the framework of the European Union's Human Capital and Mobility-Access to Large Installations Programme (E.U. Contract No. CHGE-CT94-0066 European Commission-DGXII). The project aimed to characterise the radio propagation channel in an industrial environment. The way to do that consisted fundamentally of two phases: gathering a comprehensive set of measurements and a propagation modelling review. A deep knowledge of the limitations caused for an industrial environment will facilitate the setting up of the so convenient radio communications systems within industrial areas such as analogue trunked systems according to the MPT 1327 (400 MHz) standard, cordless systems according to the DECT (1800 MHz) standard or digital trunked systems, especially designed for voice and data applications, based on TETRA (400 and 900 MHz) standard

Some empirical evidence on the determinants of immigration from Fiji to New Zealand: 1970–94

This paper formulates and tests a model for migration from Fiji to New Zealand within the human capital framework using time‐series data from 1970–94. The error‐correction model, which appears to adequately characterise the data generation process, reveals that wage and unemployment differentials are statistically significant variables explaining permanent and long‐term migration from Fiji to New Zealand. Equally important are the findings for the living standard differential between Fiji and New Zealand and Fiji's political instability, while exhibiting the correct signs on their coefficients, these are not statistically significant variables in explaining permanent and long‐term migration. The cost variable did not prove to be important in explaining migration from Fiji to New Zealand.

Academic and private sector salaries: chalk and cheese?

This paper utilizes evidence from the Association of University Teachers advanced to support the 1996 claim for increased remuneration for their members in the UK higher education sector. The study specifically focuses upon the determinants of pay for academic staff and a comparative series of private sector professions within a human capital theory framework. Following the estimation of an earnings function with respect to education and training, examination of the actual and estimated salary levels indicates that the degree of incomparability between academics and the nominated private sector occupations is not of the magnitude suggested by the AUT. These findings have implications for strategies, such as a pay review body, which have been proposed to alleviate supposed pay discrepancies relating to academic staff in British universities.

Where Are We Now With Human Capital Theory in Australia?*

The dominant economic paradigm for the study of wage determination is the human capital model. Increasingly, however, there is growing discontent with this model. The catalyst is the empirical literature on important earnings relationships which cannot be explained by competitive wage theory. Is human capital theory redundant? How useful is the model in the 1990s? This paper provides an assessment of the current status of human capital theory in Australia. The analysis demonstrates that even in a non‐competitive environment such as Australia the human capital framework is extremely useful for the study of wage determination. Its weakness is its inability to explain significant and persistent interindustry, inter‐occupational and gender wage differences.

Salary Discrimination by Black Males?

Abstract. Utilizing the human capital framework, the authors apply OLS methods to cross‐sectional salary data for 1989‐90 for a Southern, historically black, public university (SHBU) to determine whether salary discrimination against other race‐sex groups exists when black males hold the top economic power Results indicate that it does.