Investment in Human Capital Through Post-Compulsory Education and Training Selected Efficiency and Equity Aspects

This paper examines various efficiency and equity aspects related to the skill acquisition of young people and older adults. The analysis suggests that such human capital investment is associated with significant labour-market gains for individuals, including higher post-tax earnings and better empl...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Blöndal, Sveinbjörn
Other Authors: Field, Simon, Girouard, Nathalie
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Paris OECD Publishing 2002
Series:OECD Economics Department Working Papers
Subjects:
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Collection: OECD Books and Papers - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:This paper examines various efficiency and equity aspects related to the skill acquisition of young people and older adults. The analysis suggests that such human capital investment is associated with significant labour-market gains for individuals, including higher post-tax earnings and better employment prospects, which exceed the investment costs, mainly foregone earnings and tuition fees, by a significant margin. It also shows that the net benefits are strongly influenced by policy-related factors, such as study length, tuition subsidies and student support. Overall, the estimates reported in the paper indicate that there are strong incentives for the average student to continue studying beyond the compulsory schooling age, and also point to the benefits of such investment in education for society as a whole. However, the net gains fall with age, mainly reflecting a shorter period to take advantage of the benefits that come with education. Finally the paper notes that students ..
Physical Description:60 p. 21 x 29.7cm