Friday, May 16, 2014
The Value of Human Capital
In his lecture, Becker discusses the value of human capital and how it can be changed, or augmented, through investments in training and education. Becker believes that individuals can raise the value of their labor power through these investments. These investments, in training and education, give individuals increased specific and general knowledge and it is this knowledge that gives them the skills they need to keep their jobs or current positions within their companies. However, the need for manual labor in modern society is not as great as it once was. Even with the improvements from the investments in training and education, machines are replacing many of the jobs that used to be performed by humans. With the continued advances in technology, and companies turning towards machines for production, there has been an overall decline in the value of human capital. The specific knowledge and training needed by individuals today is simply an understanding of how to operate, maintain, and repair the machines that have replaced the jobs they once performed. Companies do not mind that they no longer need many individuals for production, the use of machines is increasing production and decreasing costs which in turn greatly raises profits. My question is this, will there ever come a time when human capital no longer has any value? The rise of machines, for lack of a better term, is removing the need for human capital in the market place, and it is unlikely that human capital will make any sort of comeback. So the question remains, will the value of human capital disappear entirely, or will there remain a percentage of jobs for which manual labor remains necessary? Is there a solution or must we accept the elimination of human capital?
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I think this is a great point. Human capital is indeed decreasing with the use of machines and technology taking over. I think that there will always be some sort of necessary human capital and understanding of certain things, even if those things are evolving into a different subject area. People at one point used to always have to do things by pen and paper before the computer was created. When typewriting services were implemented into the world, the need for the human capital of scribes went down significantly and instead people that could type and use the new machinery were needed. I think this is true for any type of technological development. You get rid of one specific type of need and introduce another. There will always be a need for human capital at some level or another because machines cannot simply run themselves forever.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael. I think that, regardless of the improvement and development of technology, there will always be a need and demand for human labor and capital. Yes technology has the capability of threatening the importance of human capital, but I think that human capital and labor is the foundation for al technology. Without human labor and capital, there would be no advancement in the growth and development of technology. Human labor and capital give technology the chance to grow.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how technology develops in the future, human capital will still be demanded by the economy in order for the economy to have any change to grow.
Your question reminds me of a science fiction short-story titled "Little Black Bag." Part of the plot is based in future society where technology is so "smart" that anyone can be any profession - the technology does the work. Thus, someone with no training or skill can be a surgeon because the equipment is "smart."
ReplyDeleteHowever, someone still has to control the equipment.
There is no need to respond to this as we are past the deadline for inclusion in the grade. However, you are more than welcome to continue the conversation through the end of this week.
Professor Schilling