Human capital: development, basic principles, theory and problems. Mechanisms of formation and development of human capital A person has a certain capital called time

The theory of human capital began to be dealt with in the 19th century. Then it became one of the promising directions in the development of economic science. Since the second half of the twentieth century. it became the main achievement, first of all, of the economics of education and labor. In the economic literature, the concept of human capital is considered in a broad and narrow sense. In a narrow sense, "one of the forms of capital is education. It was called human because this form becomes part of a person, and capital is due to the fact that it is a source of future satisfactions or future earnings, or both." In a broad sense, human capital is formed by investment (long-term capital investment) in a person in the form of costs for education and training of the labor force in production, for health care, migration, and the search for information on prices and incomes.

In the "Economic Encyclopedia" human capital is defined as "a special type of investment, the total cost of developing the reproductive potential of a person, improving the quality and improving the functioning of the labor force. The composition of human capital objects usually includes knowledge of a general educational and special nature, skills, accumulated experience. For more full and detailed characteristics of human capital use a functional approach.The principle of functionality of the definition characterizes the phenomenon not only in terms of its internal structure, but in terms of its functional purpose, final intended use.

Therefore, human capital is not just a set of skills, knowledge, and abilities that a person possesses. First, it is the accumulated stock of skills, knowledge, and abilities. Secondly, it is such a stock of skills, knowledge, abilities that is expediently used by a person in a particular area of ​​social reproduction and contributes to the growth of labor productivity and production. Thirdly, the expedient use of this reserve in the form of highly productive activities naturally leads to an increase in the earnings (income) of the employee. And, fourthly, an increase in income stimulates, interests a person through investments that may relate to health, education, etc., to increase, accumulate a new stock of skills, knowledge and motivation in order to apply it again effectively in the future.

Features of human capital:

1. In modern conditions, human capital is the main value of society and the main factor in economic growth;

2. The formation of human capital requires significant costs from the person himself and the whole society;

3. Human capital in the form of skills and abilities is a certain reserve, i.e. may be cumulative;

4. Human capital can physically wear out, economically change its value and depreciate;

5. Human capital differs from physical capital in terms of liquidity;

6. Human capital is inseparable from its carrier - a living human being;

7. Regardless of the sources of formation, which can be state, family, private, etc., the use of human capital and the receipt of direct income is controlled by the person himself.

In the economic literature, there are several approaches to the classification of types of human capital. Types of human capital can be classified according to the elements of costs, investments in human capital. For example, the following components are distinguished: education capital, health capital and cultural capital.
From the point of view of the nature of promoting the economic well-being of society, consumer and productive human capital are distinguished. Consumer capital creates a flow of directly consumed services and thus contributes to social utility.

It can be creative and educational activity. The result of such activity is expressed in the provision to the consumer of such consumer services that lead to the emergence of new ways to satisfy needs or to an increase in the efficiency of existing ways of satisfying them. Productive capital creates a stream of services, the consumption of which contributes to social utility. In this case, we mean scientific and educational activities that have direct practical application in production (creation of means of production, technologies, production services and products).

The next criterion for classifying the types of human capital is the difference between the forms in which it is embodied. living capital includes knowledge embodied in a person. Non-living capital is created when knowledge is embodied in physical, material forms. institutional capital consists of living and non-living capital associated with the production of services that satisfy the collective needs of society. It includes all governmental and non-governmental institutions that promote the efficient use of the two types of capital.

According to the form of employee training in the workplace, one can distinguish dedicated human capital and total human capital. Special human capital includes skills and knowledge acquired as a result of special training and of interest only to the firm where they were obtained. Unlike special human capital, general human capital is knowledge that can be in demand in various areas of human activity.

Thus, in the presence of a large number of definitions and types of "human capital", this concept, like many terms, is a "metaphor, transfers the properties of one phenomenon to another according to their common feature." Human capital is the most important component of modern productive capital, which is represented by a rich stock of knowledge inherent in man, developed abilities, determined by intellectual and creative potential. The main factor in the existence and development of human capital is investment in human capital.

Human capital (HC) is a set of knowledge and skills that are applied to meet the needs of an individual and society. This term has been used since 1961 thanks to the American economist Theodor Schultz. His followers developed this topic, describing the factors, methods and other features of the development of human capital.

The history of the development of the issue

In the scientific literature, information on the development of human capital began to appear actively in the second half of the 20th century. This term and the foundations of the theory were introduced by economists Theodor Schultz and Gerry Becker, for which they subsequently received the Nobel Prize. The emergence of the theory of human capital has become a kind of response to private economic theories to the need for a real economy. The role of man and his potential in society was not fully disclosed. Through a deep analysis of economic processes, human capital was identified as the main factor in the development of society.

For a long period of time, the understanding of human capital was limited to human knowledge and skills, and was also considered an exclusively social category. Any investment in a person (for example, in education) was considered unproductive. By the end of the 20th century, attitudes towards this category had changed. According to Fisher, human capital embodies the ability of a person to generate income.

Having studied the experience of advanced countries, Simon Kuznets came to the conclusion that the accumulated human capital is the main condition for the development of the economy. And the economist Edward Denison focused not only on the quantity, but also on the quality of human resources (namely, on the importance of education). Over time, the importance of health, emotional state, material well-being of workers and other factors was described.

Modern theory of human capital

Based on many years of research, a certain theory of human capital has developed. It can be briefly described as follows:

• acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills and abilities throughout life, applying them in various fields;
• the growth of material well-being affects the interest in the further development of human capital;
• in order to increase labor productivity and increase economic efficiency, it is advisable to use human knowledge, skills and abilities;
• refusal of current needs in favor of the formation of labor potential leads to an increase in the level of well-being in the future;
• motivation and stimulation are necessary conditions for the acquisition and accumulation of knowledge, skills and abilities.

How is human capital formed?

If we consider the formation of human capital on the example of a single person, we can conclude that on average this process takes 15-25 years. As a rule, it begins at 3-4 years. At this point, the child already has enough information to start developing talents and acquiring knowledge. Of course, you should not write off the innate potential. Further self-determination and self-realization depend on how successful education in childhood will be.

The most significant in terms of personal development is the period from 13 to 23 years (approximately). At this time, the most active general, creative and vocational training takes place. The higher the level of accumulated knowledge, the more significant the opportunities in terms of improving one's own well-being and improving the life of society as a whole.

There are several types of human capital. Namely:

• General - all knowledge and skills, regardless of the sources of acquisition and ways of application.
• Specific - special knowledge and skills that have practical value.
• Positive - Accumulated human capital providing a positive return on investment.
• Negative (or passive) - human capital that does not give a positive return.

Structure of the Cheka

The development of human capital occurs in several directions. Its structure is shown in the table:

Cheka Development Factors

Researchers identify several groups of human capital development factors. They are described in the table.

Principles of human capital management

Human capital management is based on some fundamental principles. Namely:

• Considering human capital as an asset that requires investment, rather than a liability that requires costs.
• Coincidence of the business model of the enterprise with the strategy of human capital development.
• Application of new methods, approaches and technologies in matters of human capital management.
• A balanced approach to motivating and stimulating labor resources.
• Targeting of investments in the formation of human capital.
• Regularity of quantitative and qualitative assessment of human capital.
• Scientific validity of activities.

Human capital development index

In different countries, the situation in the field of human resource development is not the same. An indicator such as the human capital index helps to conduct a comparative analysis. It is calculated and published annually by the analytical department of the World Economic Forum, together with specialists from Harvard University and a reputable consulting company.

To assess how human capital is developing in a particular country (a total of 122 economies are analyzed), marks are given from 0 to 100. The score is given as a result of evaluating several parameters, namely:

• income (expressed in gross domestic product per capita);
• education (calculated based on the level of literacy among the population, the proportion of children and young people studying);
• longevity.

As of 2017, the leaders in the human capital development index were Finland and Norway. In the tail of the rating are Senegal, Mauritania and Yemen. Russia is on the 51st place in this list.

Measures to develop Cheka

The level of human capital development in a country largely depends on the efforts of the government. Here are the most popular measures around the world:

• ensuring the affordability of housing (as a rule, we are talking about favorable conditions for mortgage lending, as well as creating conditions for the development of the real estate market);
• ensuring the availability of education (both primary, secondary and higher);
• improving the welfare of citizens (in particular, by creating a sufficient number of jobs);
• providing a sense of personal security through the development of affordable insurance programs;
• ensuring the longevity of the population through the development of the medical system and ensuring labor safety;
• development of new forms of pension insurance.

Innovative approach to development

Time dictates its conditions, and therefore there is a need for new ways of developing human capital. The innovative approach includes the following measures:

• establishing links between educational institutions and the business environment;
• development of new educational services and appropriate methodological support;
• introduction of modern technologies and software into the educational process;
• interstate exchange of innovative methods;
• development of the consulting base.

Features of investment in CHK

Studying the problem of human capital development, it is worth paying attention to investments. We are talking about financial investments in education, health care, science, social issues and so on. Investments in HC have the following key features:

• Efficiency is directly related to life expectancy. The sooner financial injections begin, and the longer the working age of a person lasts, the greater the return will be.
• They multiply and accumulate, despite the tendency to moral and physical wear and tear.
• As soon as a person loses the ability to work (regardless of the reason), the efficiency of investments decreases sharply.
• If investments in human well-being are associated with illegal activities, they cannot be considered investments in human capital.
• The return on investment does not come immediately, it can be noticeable after 10-20 years.

Features of human capital in Russia

Russia is a huge country, which is characterized by some heterogeneity in terms of opportunities for the population. Thus, the development of human capital in the Far East, in Siberia or in the southern regions (and so on) will be somewhat different. Nevertheless, if we sum up the generalized calculations, the country averages will be as follows:

• Life expectancy (based on health assessment and actual longevity) is 70.3 years. It is worth noting that this is not the best indicator and is at the level of countries that are characterized by an average development of human capital.
• The literacy rate of the population (based on the number of years that people spend on education) is 15 years. The expected duration of education for future generations tends to decrease and is 12 years. Despite the negative dynamics, these indicators are quite good, typical for countries with a high level of human capital.
• The standard of living (measured by gross per capita income at purchasing power parity) is $23,286 (1,577,000 rubles). This indicator is typical for countries where the development of human capital is at an average level.

Problems of human capital in the domestic space

Are there problems in the development of human capital in Russia? Of course, there are also many of them. Here are the manifestations of the crisis of the Cheka by domestic researchers:

• the critical situation regarding the funding of science and education, which has a direct negative impact on the quality of research and teaching;
• depreciation of human capital in some areas of the economy, which leads to intellectual unemployment;
• the formation of a surplus of highly qualified personnel in some sectors, which is associated with a reduction in funding;
• a downward trend in the income level of people with higher education, which causes them to look for side jobs or change their profession to a low-skilled one;
• brain drain abroad;
• insufficiency or lack of market-oriented knowledge among the political and economic elite;
• discrepancy between the qualifications of officials and the new economic and social conditions;
• shortage of quality teaching staff;
• socio-psychological tension caused by economic and political instability, as well as a change in the usual behavioral model.

1) Unlike physical capital, human capital is not transferred, it is directly related to the person - its carrier. The owner of human capital in a free society can only be the person himself.

2) This form of capital may also depreciate in a special way if, for example, its owner falls ill, and completely disappears at the death of the owner. This makes investing in human capital much riskier than investing in physical capital.

3) The impossibility of “transferring” it is also associated with the inherent dependence of human capital on the desires of its owner. Based on their tastes, life values ​​or preferences, a person can use the capital contained in it with varying degrees of productivity. The productivity of the amount of human capital available (if it can be measured at all) will vary depending on the propensity of the individual to use it. In reality, there may be a large discrepancy between the stock of human capital that the population has and its amount used in the labor market.

4) The size of investment in human capital is very difficult, if not impossible, to estimate. Unlike physical capital, the value of which can be calculated directly, human capital is estimated indirectly - by the value of future income. How to estimate these future returns and, accordingly, calculate the real cost of investing in human capital is a serious empirical problem. It is also difficult, almost impossible, to determine the exact amount of human capital.

5) Unlike physical capital, which is usually invested in only for the development of production, funds invested in human capital can be partially used unproductively. Thus, the cost of it cannot be fully attributed to investments. For example, most students studying history, fine arts and literature do this not only and not so much in order to increase the productivity of their work. All this makes it difficult to calculate the cost and return on investment in human capital.

Features of human capital can be represented in Figure 10.2

Figure 10.2 - Features of human capital

The similarities and differences between human and physical capital can be summarized in a table

Table 10.1 - Similarities and differences between human and physical capital

Types of human capital presented in table 10.2

Table 10.2 - Types of human capital

The most important component of human capital is labor, its quality and productivity. The quality of labor, in turn, is determined by the mentality of the population and the quality of life.

Human capital according to the degree of efficiency, as a productive factor, can be divided negative (destructive) and positive (creative) human capital. Between these extreme states and the components of total human capital, there are states and components of capital that are intermediate in efficiency.

Negative human capital- this is a part of the accumulated human capital, which does not give any useful return on investment in it for society, the economy and hinders the growth of the quality of life of the population, the development of society and the individual. Not every investment in upbringing and education is useful and increases HC. An incorrigible criminal, a hired killer is an investment in them lost for society and family. A significant contribution to the accumulated negative HC is made by corrupt officials, criminals, drug addicts, and excessive drinkers. And just loafers, loafers and thieving people. And, on the contrary, a significant share of the positive part of the Cheka is made by workaholics, professionals, world-class specialists. The negative accumulated human capital is formed on the basis of the negative aspects of the nation's mentality, on the low culture of the population, including its market components (in particular, the ethics of work and entrepreneurship). Contribute to it are the negative traditions of the state structure and the functioning of state institutions on the basis of lack of freedom and underdevelopment of civil society, on the basis of investments in pseudo-education, pseudo-education and pseudo-knowledge, in pseudo-science and pseudo-culture. A particularly significant contribution to the negative accumulated human capital can be made by the active part of the nation - its elite, since it is she who determines the policy and strategy of the country's development, leads the nation along the path of either progress, or stagnation (stagnation) or even regression. Negative human capital requires additional investment in human capital to change the essence of knowledge and experience. To change the educational process, to change the innovation and investment potential, to change for the better the mentality of the population and improve its culture. In this case, additional investments are required to compensate for the negative capital accumulated in the past.

Positive human capital(creative or innovative) are defined as the accumulated human capital that provides a useful return on investment in it in the development and growth processes. In particular, from investments in improving and maintaining the quality of life of the population, in the growth of innovative potential and institutional capacity. In the development of the education system, the growth of knowledge, the development of science, the improvement of public health. To improve the quality and availability of information. Cheka is an inertial productive factor. Investments in it give a return only after a while. The value and quality of human capital depend primarily on the mentality, education, knowledge and health of the population. In a historically short period of time, one can get a significant return on investment in education, knowledge, health, but not in the mentality that has been formed over the centuries. At the same time, the mentality of the population can significantly reduce the transformation coefficients of investments in HC and even make investments in HC completely inefficient.

Passive human capital- human capital, which does not contribute to the country's development processes, to the innovative economy, aimed mainly at its own consumption of material goods.

The elements of human capital are shown in Figure 10.3

The economic growth of the state can be increased by financing various sectors of the economy: human capital, the quality of the workforce, culture and infrastructure. One of the most important tasks of the country is the direct accumulation of spiritual, material and intellectual abilities of a person. The main purpose of the country's spending is precisely investing in human capital. To increase the significant opportunities of society, it is necessary to increase the potential of each member of society, by increasing the potential, we will achieve a dynamic rate of economic growth. The development of human capital in Russia involves:

• - creating quality conditions for the development and improvement of the abilities of each person, improving the living conditions of Russian citizens;
• - increasing the competitiveness of human capital.

At present, a lot depends on the degree of human capital formation, including economic growth.

Human capital is the knowledge and skills learned by a person, which play a very important role for him in labor productivity.

The formation of human capital can be combined into the following groups: institutional, socio-demographic, integration, socio-mental, environmental, economic, production.

In order to ensure the implementation of functions in terms of the formation of human capital in Russia, the following is guaranteed:

• - increasing the availability of housing for citizens through mortgage mechanisms;
• - accessibility of the consumer lending market;
• - promoting the improvement of the quality of life and personal well-being;
• - Assistance in facilitating pension insurance mechanisms.

The conceptual model of human capital formation is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - The concept of the human capital formation model

The formation of human capital is a process of increasing the productive qualities of the workforce, providing a high level of education and skill. For the long-term economic growth of the country, the formation of human capital is of decisive importance. The interaction of people with each other affects the dissemination of knowledge.

On average, the process of forming human capital takes approximately 15-20 years, this most often leads to a high level of several generations of people within the country.

The leading role in the formation of human capital is assigned to the sphere of culture, which is due to the following circumstances:

• - transition to a more advanced type of economic development;
• - development of the market of services in the field of culture.

Human capital is formed from childhood and is considered formed at the age of 23-25. Every child at the age of 3-4 years has a culture of completely free access to any information. The development of a child's abilities gives him the opportunity to freely manage his talents, to put as many concepts, skills, and abilities into his toolkit as possible. The development of the child is influenced by the results of his education, which later may affect the development of the labor market. The amount of human capital acquired in the learning process depends on innate abilities. The main period for the formation of human capital is the age from 13 to 23 years. This is a period of hormonal explosion, puberty, when nature gives a growing body a surge of tremendous energy. This energy must be transformed (sublimated) at the stadium in order to improve health, on the student bench and in the theater, in order to receive education and culture, learn to set and achieve goals in life, and overcome obstacles. A person can become a skilled worker by acquiring human capital, which is characterized by a high content of knowledge, contributes to innovation and the development of new ideas. The formed human capital provides a person with a stable income, status in society, self-sufficiency.

A feature of the process of forming human capital is that:

• - life expectancy makes the acquisition of human capital relatively more attractive to people of any ability level;
• - increased innate abilities facilitate the acquisition of human capital.

Knowledge and skills embodied in a person are difficult to separate from human health, which also determines labor productivity. Public health policy is the key to effective human capital formation. Access to medical care and proper nutrition increase life expectancy and help people become more efficient at work. As the life expectancy of the population increases, it is beneficial for society to use the experience and skill of people, which allows them to do their job more efficiently.

The basis for the formation of human capital is the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. The formation of skills is becoming a priority for the country's economic development. Education is an important tool for building human capital. Education contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of people and the exercise by them of their civil rights and obligations. Education enriches a person's life by developing cognitive and social skills and informing people about their civic rights and responsibilities.

Workers with higher education are more productive than those with secondary education. Workers with a secondary education are more productive than those with a primary education, and workers with a primary education are more productive than those with no education.

Educated people are more skilled and capable of doing their job effectively, have a wider arsenal of tools to solve problems and overcome difficulties. They are also better suited to more demanding jobs, which are often associated with higher wages and greater economic benefits.

For well-being, human well-being, the formation and accumulation of human capital is the main goal of the state's economic policy. State forms of education are one of the most important means of forming human capital among the low-income strata of the population. People from the low-income segments of the population, having no access to physical and financial resources, while having a high cost of their own human capital, acquire the opportunity to earn and influence the level and quality of life.

Countries can invest in public schools as well as adult education to reap these benefits and also help build human capital.

Building human capital through education and training encourages investment, stimulates the development and deployment of new technologies, and increases productivity per worker. However, the relationships between education, inequality, human capital creation, and economic development and growth are complex and often unique to a country's context.

The accumulation of human capital precedes economic growth and serves as the basis for economic growth. The process of human capital accumulation is an investment in education and training. Investing in education is a tool that influences the labor income of people's life cycle. The degree of accumulation of human capital varies by culture, country, region of residence of the holder of human capital. Human capital can accumulate until a person retires. The accumulation of human capital, being endogenous, responds to incentives associated with changes in technological knowledge. Human capital accumulation tends endogenously to zero some time before retirement. Older workers have low motivation for professional training (retraining).

Developed countries have more financial resources to invest in human capital accumulation. In less developed countries, labor productivity is very low. To increase this potential, there is a need for the formation of human capital. In developing countries, the formation of human capital is carried out by the provision of public services for the introduction of new production methods and the creation of an education system.

The development of human capital occurs through the creation of comfortable living conditions: income growth, good roads, well-maintained yards, modern medical and educational services, as well as a cultural environment.

The state of human capital in the least developed countries is reflected in the indicators of the Human Capital Index, related to the level of education, health and nutrition:

• - percentage of the population that is undernourished;
• - mortality rate among children under five years of age;
• - general indicator of children's education in secondary school;
• is the adult literacy rate.

The complementarity of human and physical capital in the economy leads to an acceleration of investment in human and physical capital in the long run.

Along with the priority development of human capital and the service economy, the most important sector for the implementation of knowledge, employment and income generation in the next 10-15 years will be the basic industries, transport, construction and the agricultural sector. It is in these sectors that Russia has significant competitive advantages, but it is here that major barriers to growth and efficiency gaps have accumulated. Intensive technological renewal of all basic sectors of the economy, based on new information nano- and biotechnologies, is the most important condition for the success of innovative socially oriented development and the success of the country in global competition.

Increasing the productive qualities of the labor force can be increased by providing a higher level of education and skills.

The formation of human capital increases the income, level and quality of life of people, and is also an important factor in improving labor efficiency.

Human capital- a set of knowledge, abilities, skills used to meet the diverse needs of a person and society as a whole.

Human capital in a broad sense, it is an intensive productive factor of economic development, the development of society and the family, including the educated part of the labor force, knowledge, the tools of intellectual and managerial labor, the environment and labor activities that ensure the effective and rational functioning of human capital as a productive development factor.

Briefly: Human capital- this is intelligence, health, knowledge, high-quality and productive work and quality of life.

Human capital is the main factor in the formation and development of the innovation economy and knowledge economy as the next highest stage of development.

Use the classification of human capital:

1. individual human capital.
2. The human capital of the firm.
3. national human capital.

In the national wealth, human capital in developed countries is from 70 to 80%. In Russia, about 50%.

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Subtitles

Problems of human capital in the modern world

According to I. G. Shestakov, “In the modern global world, thanks to universal education and universal testing, we find ourselves in a situation where all precious human resources are extracted to the surface, for general review, choice and plunder. It's not just about the brain drain, but about the gene pool as a whole. Under these conditions, Russia should think about the most important resource - human capital. If earlier Russia was represented by peasants, among whom nuggets were hidden - human capital, then at present there are almost no resources.

Background

Elements of the theory of human capital (HC) have existed since ancient times, when the first knowledge and the education system were formed.

In the scientific literature, the concept of human capital (Human Capital) appeared in the publications of the second half of the 20th century in the works of American economists Theodore Schultz and Gary Becker (1992). For creating the foundations of the theory of human capital (HC), they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics - Theodor Schultz in 1979, Gary Becker in 1992. He made a significant contribution to the creation of the theory of human capital and a native of the Minsk and Kharkov provinces of the Russian Empire - Simon (Semyon) Kuznets, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1971

The theory of human capital is based on the achievements of institutional theory, neoclassical theory, neo-Keynesianism and other particular economic theories. Its appearance was the response of economic and related sciences to the demand for real economy and life. There was a problem of in-depth understanding of the role of man and the accumulated results of his intellectual activity on the pace and quality of development of society and the economy. The impetus for the creation of the theory of human capital was the statistical data on the growth of the economies of the developed countries of the world, which exceeded the calculations based on the classical growth factors. An analysis of the real processes of development and growth in modern conditions has led to the establishment of human capital as the main productive and social factor in the development of the modern economy and society.

Contribution to the development of the modern theory of human capital was made by T. Schultz, G. Becker, E. Denison, R. Solow, J. Kendrick, S. Kuznets, S. Fabrikant, I. Fisher, R. Lucas and other economists, sociologists and historians .

The concept of human capital is a natural development and generalization of the concepts of the human factor and human resource, however, human capital is a broader economic category.

The economic category "human capital" was formed gradually, and at the first stage it was limited by the knowledge and ability of a person to work. Moreover, for a long time, human capital was considered only a social factor of development, that is, a costly factor, from the point of view of economic theory. It was believed that investments in upbringing, in education, are unproductive and costly. In the second half of the 20th century, the attitude towards human capital and education gradually changed dramatically.

Broad definition of human capital

The concept of human capital (Human Capital) appeared in the publications of the second half of the 20th century in the works of American economists Theodor Schulz "The Theory of Human Capital" (1960) and his follower Gary Becker "Human Capital: Theoretical and Empirical Analysis" (1964). For the development of the theory of human capital (HC) in 1992, G. Becker was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. Simon (Semyon) Kuznets, a native of Russia, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1971, made a significant contribution to the creation of the theory of Cheka.

The founders of the theory of human capital (HC) gave it a narrow definition, which has expanded over time and continues to expand, including all new components of HC. As a result, HC has become a complex intensive factor in the development of the modern economy - the knowledge economy.

Currently, on the basis of the theory and practice of human capital, a successful paradigm for the development of the United States and leading European countries is being formed and improved. Based on the theory of the Cheka, which was lagging behind, Sweden modernized its economy and returned its leadership position in the world economy in the 2000s. Finland, in a historically short period of time, has managed to move from a predominantly resource-based economy to an innovative economy. And to create their own competitive high technologies, without giving up the deepest processing of their main natural wealth - the forest. Managed to reach the first place in the world in terms of the competitiveness of the economy as a whole. Moreover, the Finns created their innovative technologies and products on the income from timber processing into goods with high added value.

All this took place not because the theory and practice of human capital realized a kind of magic wand, but because it became the answer of economic theory and practice to the challenges of the time, to the challenges of the innovative economy (knowledge economy) emerging in the second half of the 20th century and venture science. -technical business.

The development of science, the formation of the information society to the fore as components of a complex intensive development factor - human capital - have brought forward knowledge, education, health, the quality of life of the population and the leading specialists themselves, who determine the creativity and innovation of national economies.

In the context of the globalization of the world economy, in the conditions of free flow of any capital, including HC, from country to country, from region to region, from city to city in the conditions of intense international competition, the accelerated development of high technologies.

And huge advantages in creating stable conditions for the growth of the quality of life, the creation and development of the knowledge economy, the information society, the development of civil society have countries with accumulated high-quality human capital. That is, countries with an educated, healthy and optimistic population, competitive world-class professionals in all types of economic activity, in education, science, management and other areas.

Understanding and choosing human capital as the main development factor literally dictates a systematic and integrated approach in developing a development concept or strategy and linking all other private strategies and programs with them. This dictate follows from the essence of the national Cheka as a multicomponent development factor. Moreover, this diktat emphasizes the living conditions, work and quality of the tools of specialists that determine the creativity and creative energy of the country.

The core of the Cheka, of course, was and still is a man, but now he is an educated, creative and enterprising person, with a high level of professionalism. Human capital itself determines in the modern economy the main share of the national wealth of countries, regions, municipalities and organizations. At the same time, the share of unskilled labor in the GDP of developed and developing countries, including Russia, is getting smaller, and in technologically advanced countries it is already vanishingly small.

Therefore, the division of labor into unskilled labor and labor requiring education, special skills and knowledge is gradually losing its original meaning and economic content when defining human capital, which the founders of the human capital theory identified with educated people and their accumulated knowledge and experience. The concept of human capital as an economic category is constantly expanding along with the development of the global information community and the knowledge economy.

Human capital in a broad definition is an intensive productive factor in the development of the economy, society and family, including the educated part of the labor force, knowledge, tools for intellectual and managerial work, the environment and labor activity that ensure the effective and rational functioning of human capital as a productive development factor.

Briefly: Human capital is intelligence, health, knowledge, quality and productive labor and quality of life.

The composition of the human capital includes investments and returns from them in the tools of intellectual and managerial work, as well as investments in the environment for the functioning of the human capital, ensuring its effectiveness.

Human capital is a complex and distributed intensive development factor. It, like blood vessels in a living organism, permeates the entire economy and society. And ensures their functioning and development. Or, on the contrary, it depresses with its low quality. Therefore, there are objective methodological difficulties with assessing its individual economic efficiency, its individual productivity, its individual contribution to GDP growth and to improving the quality of life. HC, through specialists and IT, contributes to the development and growth of the economy everywhere, in all types of economic and industrial activities.

Cheka contributes to improving the quality and productivity of labor in all types of life and life support. In all types of economic activity, management, educated professionals determine the productivity and efficiency of labor. And knowledge, quality work, qualifications of specialists play a decisive role in the effectiveness of the functioning and work of institutions and organizations of all forms and types.

The main drivers of HC development are competition, investment, and innovation.

The innovative sector of the economy, the creative part of the elite, society, and the state are sources of accumulation of high-quality human capital, which determines the direction and pace of development of the country, region, medical organizations, and organizations. On the other hand, the accumulated high-quality human capital underlies the innovation system and economy (IE).

The development processes of HC and IE constitute a single process of formation and development of the innovation-information society and its economy.

What is the difference between human capital and human potential? The human potential index of a country or region is calculated according to three indicators: GDP (or GRP), life expectancy and literacy of the population. That is, it is a narrower concept than the Cheka. The latter absorbs the concept of human potential as its enlarged component.

How is human capital different from labor resources? The labor force is directly people, educated and uneducated, who determine skilled and unskilled labor. Human capital is a much broader concept and includes, in addition to labor resources, accumulated investments (taking into account their depreciation) in education, science, health, security, quality of life, in the tools of intellectual labor and in the environment that ensures the effective functioning of the human capital.

Investments in the formation of an effective elite, including in the organization of competition, are among the most important investments in Cheka. It has been known since the time of the classics of science D. Toynbee and M. Weber that it is the elite of the people that determines the vector of the direction of its development. Forward, side or back.

An entrepreneurial resource is a creative resource, an intellectual resource for the development of the economy. Therefore, investment in an entrepreneurial resource is an investment in the development of human capital in terms of increasing its constructiveness, creativity and innovation. In particular, business angels are a necessary component of the HC.

Investments in institutional services are aimed at creating comfortable conditions for servicing the state. institutions of citizens, including doctors, teachers, scientists, engineers, that is, the core of the Cheka, which helps to improve the quality of their life and work.

With such an expansion of the economic category “human capital”, it comes out, as already noted, from the “flesh” of a person. People's brains do not work effectively with a poor quality of life, with low security, with an aggressive or oppressive environment for living and working.

The foundation on which innovative economies and information societies are created is the rule of law, the high quality of human capital, the high quality of life and an efficient industrial economy, which has smoothly transformed into a post-industrial or innovative economy.

National human capital includes social, political capital, national intellectual priorities, national competitive advantages and natural potential of the nation.

National human capital is measured by its value, calculated by various methods - by investment, by the discount method and others.

The national human capital makes up more than half of the national wealth of each of the developing countries and over 70-80% of the developed countries of the world.

Features of national human capital determined the historical development of world civilizations and countries of the world. National human capital in the 20th and 21st centuries has been and remains the main intensive factor in the development of the economy and society.

Estimates of the cost of national human capital of the countries of the world

The cost of the national human capital of the countries of the world on the basis of the cost method was estimated by the specialists of the World Bank.

Estimates of the components of the human capital for the costs of the state, families, entrepreneurs and various funds were used. They make it possible to determine the current annual costs of society for the reproduction of human capital.

In the United States, the value of human capital at the end of the 20th century was $95 trillion, or 77% of the national wealth (NW), 26% of the global total value of human capital.

The value of the world human capital amounted to 365 trillion dollars or 66% of world wealth, 384% of the US level.

For China, these figures are: $ 25 trillion, 77% of the total NB, 7% of the world's total HC and 26% of the US level. For Brazil, respectively: $9 trillion; 74%, 2% and 9%. For India: 7 trillion; 58%, 2%; 7%.

For Russia, the figures are: $30 trillion; fifty %; eight %; 32%.

The G7 countries and the EEC accounted for 59% of the world's HC for the reference period, which is 78% of their national wealth.

Human capital in most countries exceeded half of the accumulated national wealth (with the exception of the OPEC countries). The HC percentage is significantly affected by the cost of natural resources. In particular, for Russia, the share of the cost of natural resources is relatively large.

The bulk of the world's human capital is concentrated in the developed countries of the world. This is due to the fact that investments in HC in these countries over the past half century have significantly outpaced investments in physical capital. In the United States, the ratio of "investment in people" and productive investment (social spending on education, health care and social security as a % of productive investment) in 1970 was 194%, and in 1990 318%.

There are certain difficulties in the comparative assessment of the cost of HC in countries with different levels of development. The human capital of an underdeveloped country and a developed country has a significantly different productivity per unit of capital, as well as a very different quality (for example, a significantly different quality of education and health care). To assess the effectiveness of national human capital, factor analysis methods are used using country-specific international indices and indicators. At the same time, the values ​​of the HC efficiency coefficient for different countries differ significantly, which is close to the differences in their labor productivity. The methodology for measuring national human capital is set out in the work.

The cost of Russian national human capital has been declining over the past 20 years due to low investment in it and the degradation of education, medicine, and science.

National human capital and historical development of countries and civilizations

The economic category "human capital" was formed gradually. And at the first stage, the composition of the Cheka included a small number of components - upbringing, education, knowledge, health. Moreover, for a long time, human capital was considered only a social factor of development, that is, a costly factor, from the point of view of the theory of economic growth. It was believed that investments in upbringing, in education, are unproductive and costly. In the second half of the 20th century, the attitude towards human capital and education gradually changed dramatically.

In reality, it was investments in education and science that in the past ensured the outstripping development of Western civilization - Europe and North America in comparison with China, India and other countries. Studies of the development of civilizations and countries in past centuries show that even then human capital was one of the main development factors that predetermined the success of some countries and the failure of others.

Western civilization at a certain historical stage won the global historical competition with more ancient civilizations precisely due to the faster growth of human capital, including education, in the Middle Ages. At the end of the 18th century, Western Europe surpassed China (and India) by one and a half times in per capita GDP and twice in terms of literacy. The latter circumstance, multiplied by economic freedom and then democracy, became the main factor in the economic success of the Europeans, as well as the United States and other Anglo-Saxon countries.

The influence of human capital on economic growth is also indicative on the example of Japan. In the land of the Rising Sun, which has pursued isolationist policies for centuries, the level of human capital has always been high, including education and life expectancy. In 1913, the average number of years of adult education in Japan was 5.4 years, in Italy 4.8, in the USA 8.3 years, and the average life expectancy was 51 years (roughly the same as in Europe and the USA). In Russia, these figures were equal: 1-1.2 years and 33-35 years. Therefore, Japan, in terms of the level of starting human capital, turned out to be ready in the 20th century to make a technological breakthrough and become one of the most advanced countries in the world.

Human capital is an independent complex intensive development factor, in fact, the foundation of GDP growth in combination with innovations and high technologies in modern conditions. The difference between this complex intensive factor and natural resources, classical labor and ordinary capital is the need for constant increased investment in it and the existence of a significant time lag in the return on these investments. In the developed countries of the world in the late 1990s, about 70% of all funds were invested in human capital, and only about 30% in physical capital. Moreover, the main share of investments in human capital in the advanced countries of the world is carried out by the state. And this is precisely one of its most important functions in terms of state regulation of the economy.

An analysis of the processes of changing the technological structures of the economy and types of societies shows that human capital, the cycles of its growth and development are the main factors in the generation of innovative waves of development and the cyclical development of the world economy and society.

With a low level and quality of human capital, investments in high-tech industries do not give returns. The relatively rapid success of the Finns, Irish, Japanese, Chinese (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, etc.), Koreans, new European developed countries (Greece, Spain, Portugal) confirm the conclusion that the foundation for the formation of human capital is a high culture the bulk of the population of these countries.

Structure, type and methods for assessing the value of human capital

Structure

Once upon a time, upbringing, education and fundamental science were considered a costly burden for the economy. Then the understanding of their importance as factors in the development of the economy and society changed. Both education, and science, and mentality as components of human capital, and the Cheka itself as a whole, have become the main factor in the growth and development of the modern economy, the development of society and the improvement of the quality of life. The core of the Cheka, of course, was and remains a man. Human capital itself now determines the main share of the national wealth of countries, regions, municipalities and organizations.

With the development and complication of the concept and economic category "human capital", its structure became more complicated.

Human capital is formed primarily through investments in improving the level and quality of life of the population. Including - in upbringing, education, health, knowledge (science), entrepreneurial ability and climate, in the information support of labor, in the formation of an effective elite, in the security of citizens and business and economic freedom, as well as in culture, art and other components. The Cheka is also formed due to the influx from other countries. Or it decreases due to its outflow, which is observed so far in Russia. Cheka is not a simple number of people, workers of simple labor. Cheka is professionalism, knowledge, information service, health and optimism, law-abiding citizens, creativity and efficiency of the elite, etc.

Investments in the components of the human capital make up its structure: upbringing, education, health, science, personal security, entrepreneurial ability, investments in the training of the elite, tools for intellectual work, information services, etc.

Types of human capital

Human capital can be divided according to the degree of efficiency, as a productive factor, into negative HC (destructive) and positive (creative) HC. Between these extreme states and the components of the total human capital, there are intermediate states and components of the human capital in terms of efficiency.

This is a part of the accumulated human capital, which does not give any useful return on investment in it for society, the economy and hinders the growth of the quality of life of the population, the development of society and the individual. Not every investment in upbringing and education is useful and increases HC. An incorrigible criminal, a hired killer is an investment in them lost for society and family. A significant contribution to the accumulated negative HC is made by corrupt officials, criminals, drug addicts, and excessive drinkers. And just loafers, loafers and thieving people. And, on the contrary, a significant share of the positive part of the Cheka is made by workaholics, professionals, world-class specialists. The negative accumulated human capital is formed on the basis of the negative aspects of the nation's mentality, on the low culture of the population, including its market components (in particular, the ethics of work and entrepreneurship). Contribute to it are the negative traditions of the state structure and the functioning of state institutions on the basis of lack of freedom and underdevelopment of civil society, on the basis of investments in pseudo-education, pseudo-education and pseudo-knowledge, in pseudo-science and pseudo-culture. A particularly significant contribution to the negative accumulated human capital can be made by the active part of the nation - its elite, since it is she who determines the policy and strategy of the country's development, leads the nation along the path of either progress, or stagnation (stagnation) or even regression.

Negative human capital requires additional investment in HC to change the essence of knowledge and experience. To change the educational process, to change the innovation and investment potential, to change for the better the mentality of the population and improve its culture. In this case, additional investments are required to compensate for the negative capital accumulated in the past.

Inefficient investments in human capital - investments in inefficient projects or family costs to improve the quality of human capital components associated with corruption, lack of professionalism, false or suboptimal development ideology, family problems, etc. In fact, these are investments in the negative component of human capital. Inefficient investments, in particular, are: - investments in individuals incapable of learning and acquiring modern knowledge, which give zero or insignificant results; - in an inefficient and corrupt educational process; - into the system of knowledge, which is formed around a false core; - in false or ineffective R&D, projects, innovations.

The accumulated negative human capital begins to fully manifest itself during periods of bifurcations - in conditions of highly non-equilibrium states. In this case, there is a transition to another coordinate system (in particular, to another economic and political space), and the HC can change its sign and magnitude. In particular, during the transition of the country to another economic and political system, with a sharp transition to another, much higher technological level (for enterprises and industries). This means that the accumulated human capital, primarily in the form of accumulated mentality, experience and knowledge, as well as existing education, is not suitable for solving new tasks of a more complex level, tasks within a different development paradigm. And when moving to another coordinate system, to radically different requirements for the level and quality of human capital, the accumulated old human capital becomes negative, becomes a brake on development. And we need new additional investments in the Cheka for its modification and development.

An example of inefficient investments can be investments in the USSR in chemical warfare agents (CW). They were created almost twice as many as in the rest of the world. Billions of dollars have been spent. And almost as much money had to be spent on the destruction and disposal of OV as on their production in the past. Another close example is investment in the production of tanks in the USSR. They were also produced more than in the rest of the world. Military doctrine has changed, tanks now play a smaller role in it, and investment in them has given zero return. They are difficult to use for peaceful purposes and impossible to sell - outdated.

Let us explain once again the essence of the negativity of the unproductive component of human capital. It is determined by the fact that if a person is a carrier of knowledge that does not meet the modern requirements of science, engineering, technology, production, management, the social sphere, etc., then retraining him often requires much more money than training the corresponding employee with zero. Or an invitation from an outside worker. In other words, if the quality of labor is determined by pseudo-knowledge, then a fundamental change in this quality is more expensive than the formation of a qualitatively new labor on a modern educational basis and on the basis of other workers. In this regard, huge difficulties lie, in particular, in the way of creating a Russian innovation system and venture business. The main obstacle here is the negative components of human capital in terms of innovative entrepreneurial ability, mentality, experience and knowledge of Russians in this area. The same problems stand in the way of introducing innovations at Russian enterprises. So far, investments in this area do not give the proper return. The share of the negative component in the accumulated human capital and, accordingly, the effectiveness of investment in human capital in different countries of the world varies greatly. The effectiveness of investments in human capital is characterized by the conversion coefficients of investments in human capital at the country level and for the regions of the Russian Federation.

Positive human capital(creative or innovative) are defined as the accumulated human capital that provides a useful return on investment in it in the development and growth processes. In particular, from investments in improving and maintaining the quality of life of the population, in the growth of innovative potential and institutional capacity. In the development of the education system, the growth of knowledge, the development of science, the improvement of public health. To improve the quality and availability of information. Cheka is an inertial productive factor. Investments in it give a return only after a while. The value and quality of human capital depend primarily on the mentality, education, knowledge and health of the population. In a historically short period of time, one can get a significant return on investment in education, knowledge, health, but not in the mentality that has been formed over the centuries. At the same time, the mentality of the population can significantly reduce the transformation coefficients of investments in HC and even make investments in HC completely inefficient.

Passive human capital- human capital, which does not contribute to the country's development processes, to the innovative economy, aimed mainly at its own consumption of material goods.

The fact that human capital cannot be changed in a short time, especially with a significant amount of negative accumulated human capital, is, in fact, the main problem in the development of the Russian economy from the point of view of the theory of human capital development.

The most important component of human capital is labor, its quality and productivity. The quality of labor, in turn, is determined by the mentality of the population and the quality of life. Labor in Russia, unfortunately, has been and remains traditionally of low quality (that is, the products of Russian enterprises, with the exception of raw materials and primary products from it, are uncompetitive in world markets, productivity and labor intensity are low). The energy consumption of Russian products, depending on the industry, is two to three times higher than in countries with efficient industries. And labor productivity is several times lower than in developed countries. Low-productivity and low-quality labor significantly reduces the accumulated Russian HC and reduces its quality.

Methods for assessing the value of human capital

There are various methodological approaches to calculating the cost of human capital. J. Kendrick proposed a costly method for calculating the cost of human capital - based on statistical data, calculate the accumulation of investments in a person. This technique has proved to be convenient for the United States, where there are extensive and reliable statistical data. J. Kendrick included in investments in the Cheka the costs of the family and society for raising children until they reach working age and obtaining a certain specialty, for retraining, advanced training, health care, labor migration, etc. He also included investments in housing, household durables, stocks of goods in households, expenditures on research and development. As a result of the calculations, he obtained that human capital in the 1970s was more than half of the accumulated national wealth of the United States (excluding public investment). The Kedrick method made it possible to evaluate the accumulation of human capital at its full "replacement cost". But it did not give the possibility of calculating the "net value" of human capital (minus its "wear and tear"). This method did not contain a methodology for separating from the total amount of costs a part of the costs used for the reproduction of human capital, for its real accumulation. In the work of J. Minser, the contribution of education and the duration of labor activity to human capital is assessed. On the basis of the US statistics of the 1980s, Minser obtained dependences of the effectiveness of the human capital on the number of years of general education, professional training, and the age of the worker.

The FRASCAT methodology is based on detailed information in the United States on the costs of science since 1920. The methodology takes into account the time lag between the period of R&D and the period of their implementation in accumulated human capital as an increase in the stock of knowledge and experience. The average life of this type of capital was assumed to be 18 years. The calculation results were close to the results of other researchers. The calculation algorithm was as follows. 1. Total current spending on science (for basic research, applied research, R&D). 2. Accumulation for the period. 3. Changes in stocks. 4. Consumption for the current period. 5. Gross capital formation. 6. Net accumulation. International economic and financial institutions show constant interest in the problem of human capital. Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) back in the 1970s. prepared a document on the strategy for the further development of mankind, where the problem of the role and importance of the human factor in global economic development was raised. In this study, methods were created for calculating some components of the human capital: the average life expectancy of one generation, the duration of the active working period, the net balance of the labor force, the family life cycle, etc. The cost of human capital included the cost of educating, training and training new workers, the cost of advanced training , the cost of lengthening the period of labor activity, losses due to diseases, mortality, etc.

A significant contribution to the development of the expansionary concept of national wealth (taking into account the contribution of the HC) was made by the analysts of the World Bank, who published a series of papers substantiating this concept. The World Bank methodology summarizes the results and methods for assessing the human capital of other schools and authors. The WB methodology, in particular, takes into account the accumulated knowledge and other components of the human capital.

Sources of human capital are selected by grouping the costs for the relevant areas. These are science, education, culture and art, healthcare and information support.

These sources must be supplemented with the following: investments in the security of the population and entrepreneurs - ensure the accumulation of all other components of human capital, ensure the realization of the creative and professional potential of a person, ensure the maintenance and growth of the quality of life; investments in the training of the society's elite; investment in entrepreneurial capacity and entrepreneurial climate - public and private investment in small business and venture capital. Investments in creating conditions for maintaining and developing entrepreneurial ability ensure its implementation as an economic productive resource of the country; investment in raising children; investment in changing the mentality of the population in a positive direction is an investment in the culture of the population, which determines the effectiveness of human capital; investments in institutional services to the population - the country's institutions should contribute to the disclosure and implementation of the creative and professional abilities of the population, improve the quality of life of the population, especially in terms of reducing bureaucratic pressure on it; investments in knowledge associated with the invitation of specialists, creative people and other talented and highly professional people from other countries, which significantly increase human capital; investments in the development of economic freedom, including freedom of labor migration.

The results of calculating the human capital of Russia and the CIS countries based on the cost method using the algorithm of the World Bank specialists are given in the works. Estimates of the components of the human capital for the costs of the state, families, entrepreneurs and various funds were used. They make it possible to determine the current annual costs of society for the reproduction of Russian human capital. To assess the value of real savings, the authors of the work used the calculation of the “true savings” indicator according to the methodology of the World Bank specialists.

The human capital of most countries exceeds half of the accumulated national wealth (with the exception of the OPEC countries). This reflects the high level of development of these countries. The HC percentage is significantly affected by the cost of natural resources. In particular, for Russia, the share of the cost of natural resources is large.

It should be noted that the above method for assessing human capital by costs, which is quite correct for developed countries with efficient state systems and efficient economies, gives a significant error for developing countries and countries with economies in transition. There are certain difficulties in the comparative assessment of the cost of HC in different countries. The human capital of an underdeveloped country and a developed country has a very different productivity per unit of capital, a very different level and quality.

The growing income gap between people with and without world-class higher education is pushing for this. According to data for 1990, Americans with elementary education had a total lifetime income of $756,000; . High pay for skilled and intellectual labor is one of the main incentives for obtaining knowledge in developed countries and the main factor in their development.

In turn, the high image of intellectual work, its great importance for the knowledge economy, generates powerful synergistic effects of strengthening the total intelligence of the country, industries, corporations, and ultimately, the total human capital of the country. Hence the huge advantages of the developed countries of the world and the problems for countries with catching up economies trying to join their ranks.

Human capital is the main factor in the formation of the "knowledge economy"

All these provisions are included in one form or another (often truncated and scholastic) both in the federal innovation strategy and in regional innovation strategies, programs and laws.

In essence, the understanding of what needs to be done to create a national IP from the point of view of the theory and experience of developed countries has matured at all levels of government (among those who write programs and strategies). However, the real progress in solving the problem is insignificant.

The creative core, the engine of IP and the economy is venture business. Venture business is by definition risky and highly profitable (if successful). And in this case, the participation of the state as a regulator and investor is generally accepted. Some of the risks are assumed by the state.