Chapter 9
Human Capital
In Chapter 9 key terms fall into three categories: Economics, Education and Health. With respect to Health it is important to note the implicit use of demographic health indicators such as infant mortality discussed in Chapter 2. I will examine each category by term highlighting the implicit ideological bias of the term 'Human Capital'.
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Brain drain The emigration of highly educated and skilled professional and technical manpower from the developing to the developed countries.
Derived demand Demand for a good that emerges indirectly from demand for another good. In education, demand for schooling derived from the ultimate demand for modern-sector jobs requiring a school certificate.
Educational certification The phenomenon by which particular jobs require specified levels of education. Applicants must produce certificates of completed schooling in the formal educational system.
Human capital Productive investments embodied in human persons. These include skills, abilities, ideals, and health resulting from expenditures on education, on-the-job training programs, and medical care. See also physical capital.
Private benefits of education Benefits that accrue directly to a student and his or her family.
Private costs of education Direct and opportunity costs borne by a student and his or her family.
Social benefits of education Benefits of the schooling of individuals that accrue to the entire society, such as better government financing, improved teacher training, and a more literate workforce and citizenry.
Social costs of education Costs borne by society from private education decisions, such as high educated unemployment.
Basic education The attainment of literacy, arithmetic competence, and elementary vocational skills.
Educational gender gap Male-female differences in school access and completion.
Gross enrollment ratio The ratio of the number of individuals enrolled in a given level of schooling (e.g. primary school) to the number of children in the age group that typically attends that level. Ratio can be greater than 100 if older children are attending the primary schools. See net enrollment ratio.
Literacy The ability to read and write.
Literacy rate The percentage of the population age 15 and over able to read and write. Literacy rates are often used as one of the many social and economic indicators of the state of development of a country.
Net enrollment ratio The ratio of the number of children actually attending school to the number of school-age children in the population. See gross enrollment ratio.
AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) A deadly virus that is spreading throughout the developing world and transmitted predominantly through unprotected sexual contact. It is especially prevalent in Africa. See also HIV.
Disease Burden not defined
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) The virus that causes AIDS.
World Health Organization The key United Nations agency concerned with global health matters.