What factors contribute to human capital formation?
Human capital formation is an aggregate outcome of the investments in education, health, transport and communication sector, technical know-how and on-the-job training and migration. These factors are explained below.
i. Education
Education not only raises the standard and quality of living but also encourages modern attitudes of people. Moreover, education increases the productive capacity and productivity of a nation's workforce by honing their skills. Further, education increases the acceptability of the modern techniques and also facilitates a primitive economy to break the shackles of tradition and backwardness. An investment in educational sector has two fold benefits. It not only increases the income earning capacity but also reduces the skewed distribution of income, thereby, forming an egalitarian society. The investment in educational sector has long lasting returns. It not only enhances the present economic condition but also improves the future prospects of a country. The importance of education is not only limited to making people educated but also in facilitating an underdeveloped economy to solve different but interrelated macro economic problems like, poverty, income inequality, population, investments, under utilisation of resources. Therefore, investment in education must be accorded high priority in a country.
ii. Health
There is a saying “The greatest wealth is health”. The wealth of a country can be increased with the efforts of healthy workforce. Investment in health sector increases efficiency, efficacy and productivity of a nation's workforce. In contrast to an unhealthy person, a healthy person can work better with more efficiency and, consequently, can contribute relatively more to the GDP of a country. Good health and medical facilities not only increase the life expectancy but also improve quality and standard of living. Investing in health sector ensures the perennial supply of healthy workforce. Some of the common expenditures incurred in the health sector are on providing better medical facilities, easy availability of life savings drugs, common vaccination, spread of medical knowledge, provision of proper sanitation and clean drinking water, etc. Thus, the expenditure incurred on health is important in the building and maintaining a productive work force.
iii. On-the-Job Training
Training refers to the act of acquiring skills, knowledge and competency required to perform a particular job efficiently and effectively. On-the-job training is the most effective kind of training to a trainee, imparting him the technical skills and know-how at the actual work site. In this type of training, a trainee is assisted (or hands on) and trained by a trainer (usually by an experienced employee) when the trainee is actually doing the job. This helps the trainee not only to acquire the theoretical and practical skills simultaneously but also enables him to learn from the experiences of his trainer and, thereby, can increase his efficiency and productivity. This is the most common type of training programs because the returns in terms of increased productivity far exceed the cost of the training. Thus, the expenditures on such training improve the quality of human capital by enhancing its productivity, efficiency and income earning capacity.
iv. Migration
Migration refers to the movement of people from underdeveloped or developing countries to developed countries in search of better avenues. Migrations contribute to human capital formation as it facilitates the utilisation of inactive or underdeveloped skills of an individual. The cost of migration involves cost of transportation and cost of living at the migrated places. Usually, the cost of migration is very high due to the high cost of transportation and high cost of livelihood in the developed countries. But still, people migrate in search of better job opportunities and handsome salaries. Migration of human capital helps the underdeveloped countries to acquire technical skills, efforts reducing methods and efficient way of performing tasks. These skills and know-how are transmitted by the migrated people to their home country that not only add to the economic growth and development but also enhance the human capital of the home country.
v. Information
The degree of availability of jobs, salaries and admissions related information also play an important role.
Compare and contrast the development of India, China and Pakistan with respect to some salient human development indicators.
How is RBI controlling the commercial banks?
Explain the steps taken by the government in developing rural markets.
What are the functions of the environment?
Distinguish between the following
(i) Strategic and Minority sale
(ii) Bilateral and Multi-lateral trade
(iii) Tariff and Non-tariff barriers.
Why was the public sector given a leading role in industrial development during the planning period?
Match the following:
1. Prime Minister 3. Quota 4. Land Reforms 5. HYV Seeds 6. Subsidy |
A. Seeds that give large proportion of output C. Chairperson of the planning commission D. The money value of all the final goods and services produced within the economy in one year. E. Improvements in the field of agriculture to increase its productivity F. The monetary assistance given by government for production activities. |
Infrastructure contributes to the economic development of a country. Do you agree? Explain.
Find the odd man out (i) owner of a saloon (ii) a cobbler (iii) a cashier in Mother Dairy (iv) a tuition master (v) transport operator (vi) construction worker.
Highlight any two serious adverse environmental consequences of development in India. India’s environmental problems pose a dichotomy — they are poverty induced and, at the same time, due to affluence in living standards — is this true?
How can we increase the effectiveness of health care programmes?
Meena is a housewife. Besides taking care of household chores, she works in the cloth shop which is owned and operated by her husband. Can she be considered as a worker? Why?
Why was it necessary for a developing country like India to follow self-reliance as a planning objective?
Analyse the recent trends in sectoral distribution of workforce in India.
Evaluate the various factors that led to the rapid growth in economic development in China.
Explain the statement that the green revolution enabled the government to procure sufficient food grains to build its stocks that could be used during times of shortage.
Who is a casual wage labourer?
Why are less women found in regular salaried employment?
Explain the need and type of land reforms implemented in the agriculture sector.
How do the following factors contribute to the environmental crisis in India? What problem do they pose for the government?
(i) Rising population
(ii) Air pollution
(iii) Water contamination
(iv) Affluent consumption standards
(v) Illiteracy
(vi) Industrialisation
(vii) Urbanisation
(viii) Reduction of forest coverage
(ix) Poaching
(x) Global warming