The Death of Human Capital?

E. P. Hoffman, Western Michigan University, CHOICE ...this new theory is appealing. Recommended. All levels.

The Death of Human Capital? challenges the conventional wisdom of human capital theory when analyzing higher education, graduate employment, and youth transition from education to work. It is not only thought-provoking, but breaks new ground for offering comparative and international perspectives in understanding global competition, new technologies, and economic inequalities in the highly globalized world." -Ka Ho Mok, Chair Professor of Comparative Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong


Human capital theory and the policies spawned from it have promised much, delivered little, and trapped us all in an endless cycle of chasing the next credential. Brown, Lauder, and Chueng provide a clear and compelling argument for an alternative vision of labor markets that accounts for job creation, job destruction, and job skills, providing a roadmap for coming to terms with real inequalities in opportunity and life chances." -Kevin T. Leicht, Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Phillip Brown is a Distinguished Research Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Zhengzhou University, China. His publications include 18 books and over 100 academic articles and reports. He has given presentations in over twenty countries. He Chaired an Independent Review for the Welsh Government examining the impact of digital innovation for the economy and the future of work in Wales, UK, and is currently leading a six-country research program examining digital transformation and the future of work, education and skills, in collaboration with the Research and Innovation Division, Institute of Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). He also serves on the Council of Management, National Institute for Economic and Social Research, London. Hugh Lauder is Professor of Education and Political Economy at the University of Bath. He specializes in the relationship of education to the economy and has for over 20 years worked on national skill strategies and the global economy. His current work is on the alternatives to human capital and skill bias technical change theories. Sin Yi Cheung is Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. Her research addresses different forms of social inequalities in Britain and in comparative perspective. She has published on the changing inequalities in higher education, ethno-religious penalties in the labor market, lone parents on benefits, claimants' dynamics, children in care, migration and refugee integration.

1. Introduction Part One - The Rise of Human Capital Theory 2. Origins 3. The High Tide Part Two - The Failed Promise 4. Learning Isn't Earning 5. Winners and Losers 6. The Mirage of Opportunity 7. The Failed Promise of Development 8. A Revisionist History Part Three - The New Human Capital 9. Starting Principles 10. Rethinking Labor Supply 11. Rethinking Job Demand 12. Rethinking Economic Returns 13. Conclusion: A Race Against Time Appendix Notes