Premium
The New Political Economy of Skill Formation
Author(s) -
Vanhuysse Pieter
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.00943.x
Subject(s) - politics , political science , economic system , political economy , economics , law
More than any other period in history, our present times may be aptly labeled the Age of Human Capital. Economists from Gary Becker to Robert Barro, Daron Acemoglu and Paul Romer have driven home the message that the effect of education in improving the economic wellbeing of persons and nations is strong, and has been increasing over the last decades (Vanhuysse and Sabbagh, 2004). Policies aimed at boosting human capital contribute to wealth in at least two ways: by increasing (future) workers' ability to invent, adopt, or diffuse new ideas and technologies, and by raising workers' output per unit of time. Both books under review underscore the key role of skills and human capital in contemporary economies. Written by leading theorists in economics and political economy, these ambitious books present wide-ranging theoretical arguments grounded in extensive empirical evidence.