Human capital theory has had a profound impact on a range of disciplines from economics to education and sociology. The theory has always been the subject of bitter criticisms from the very beginning, but it has comfortably survived and expanded its influence over other research disciplines. Not surprisingly, a considerable number of criticisms have been made as a reaction to this expansion. However, it seems that these criticisms are rather fragmented and disorganized. To bridge this gap and organize them in a systematic way, the present article takes a holistic approach and reviews human capital theory from four comprehensive perspectives focusing on the methodological, empirical, practical, and moral aspects of the theory.

Human Capital Theory: A Holistic Criticism

In The Wage Qurve, David G. Blancflower and Andrew J. Oswald argue that there is a fundamental negative relation between wages and the unemployment rate in a worker's local labor market. Blancflower and Oswald use large-scale micro data sets to estimate this relation for the United States, Britain, and 10 other countries. I review their empirical methods and findings, and provide some further evidence on the nature of the wage curve relationship in the United States. I conclude that there is a strong statistical correlation between rates of pay and local unemployment, although the interpretation of this correlation remains unresolved.

The Wage Curve: A Review

Author(s): Frontczak, Monika; Schiavon, Stefano; Goins, John; Arens, Edward A; Zhang, Hui, Ph.D; Wargocki, Pawel | Abstract: The paper examines which subjectively evaluated indoor environmental parameters and building features mostly affect occupants’ satisfaction in mainly US office buildings. The study analyzed data from a web-based survey administered to 52,980 occupants in 351 office buildings over ten years by the Center for the Built Environment. The survey uses 7-point ordered scale questions pertaining to satisfaction with indoor environmental parameters, workspace and building features. The average building occupant was satisfied with his/her workspace and building. Proportional odds ordinal logistic regression shows that satisfaction with all 15 parameters listed in the survey contributed significantly to overall workspace satisfaction. The most important parameters were satisfaction with amount of space (odds ratio OR 1.57, CI: 1.55-1.59), noise level (OR 1.27, CI: 1.25-1.29) and visual privacy (OR 1.26, CI: 1.24-1.28). Satisfaction with amount of space was ranked to be the most important influence for workspace satisfaction, regardless of age group (below 30, 31-50 or over 50 years old), gender, type of office (single or shared offices, or cubicles), distance of workspace from a window (within 4.6 m or further) or satisfaction level with workspace (satisfied or dissatisfied). Satisfaction with amount of space was not related to the gross amount of space available per person.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONSTo maximize workspace satisfaction designer should invest in aspects which increase satisfaction with amount of space and storage, noise level and visual privacy. Office workers will be most satisfied with their workspace and building when located close to a window in a private office. This may affect job satisfaction, work performance and personal and company productivity.

Quantitative relationships between occupant satisfaction and satisfaction aspects of indoor environmental quality and building design

In 1958, A.W. Phillips discovered a strong negative correlation between inflation and unemployment in United Kingdom data. Continuing controversy surrounds the long-run trade-off suggested by a curve he drew through these observations. We conduct a wide-ranging investigation of the post-war U.S. Phillips correlations and Phillips curve. Many economists view the Phillips correlations as chimerical, given the rise in both inflation and unemployment during the 197Os, and the Phillips curve as plagued by subtle identification difficulties raised by Lucas and Sargent. Yet, a strikingly stable negative correlation exists over the business cycle, and recent theory indicates the Lucas-Sargent critique may not be empirically relevant. When we estimate the long-run trade-off as Gordon and Solow did, we find it is roughly one-for-one. This traditional Keynesian identification also makes business cycles entirely due to demand shocks. However, the Gordon-Solow model is not the only one that fits the data well. Alternative identifications lead to much more modest effects of demand on business cycles and essentially negligible long-run trade-offs. *We have received many constructive comments on this paper: we particularly thank Charles Evans, Robert J. Gordon, Bennett McCallum, and Charles Plosser. Support was provided by the National Science Foundation via grant NSF-91-22463.

The post-war U.S. Phillips curve: a revisionist econometric history: response to Evans and McCallum

Rates of return to investments in schooling have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 60-plus year history of such estimates, there have been several attempts to synthesize the empirical results to ascertain patterns. This paper presents comparable estimates, as well as a database, that use the same specification, estimation procedure, and similar data for 139 economies and 819 harmonized household surveys. This effort to compile comparable estimates holds constant the definition of the dependent variable, the set of control variables, the sample definition, and the estimation method for all surveys in the sample. The results of this study show that (1) the returns to schooling are more concentrated around their respective means than previously thought; (2) the basic Mincerian model used is more stable than may have been expected; (3) the returns to schooling are higher for women than for men; (4) returns to schooling and labor market experience are strongly and positively associated; (5) there is a decreasing pattern over time; and (6) the returns to tertiary education are highest.

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Comparable estimates of returns to schooling around the world

This article analyses the intrahousehold allocation of time in households headed by heterosexual couples to show gender differences in childcare in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Using data for the five sample countries from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP; 1994–2001) and the framework of a general efficiency approach, each parent's hours spent on childcare are regressed against individual and household characteristics. Empirical results show a clear inequality in childcare between fathers and mothers, with this disparity being more evident in Mediterranean countries. Panel data estimates reveal that, in general, caring tasks are mainly influenced by the presence of young children in the household, by the total nonlabor income, and by the ratio of mothers' nonlabor income to family's nonlabor income, with this latter variable exhibiting different behavior across genders and across countries.

Gender Differences in Childcare: Time Allocation in Five European Countries

Education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers: Portugal vs. Spain

In general terms, participation in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) generates social benefits, raising human capital through the transfer of knowledge and interpersonal trust through the interaction ...

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0899764006293179

Members, Volunteers, and Donors in Nonprofit Organizations in Spain

GARCiA-MAINAR I. and MONTUENGA-GOMEZ V. M. (2003) The Spanish wage curve: 1994–1996, Reg. Studies 37, 929– 945. In this paper, we estimate a wage curve for Spain using data from the European Community Household Panel, which provides microinformation for the period 1994–96. By refining the unemployment rate measure, we find an unemployment elasticity of wages not very far from that encountered in other developed countries. We argue that these results correspond to a disequilibrium representation of the regional unemployment structure, in which unemployment differentials tend to persist over time.GARCiA-MAINAR I. et M ONTUENGA-GOMEZ V. M. (2003) La courbe des salaires en Espagne de 1994 a 1996, Reg. Studies 37, 929–945. A partir des donnees provenant du European Community Household Panel (echantillon permanent aupres des menages dans la Communaute europeenne), cet article cherche a estimer une courbe des salaires pour l'Espagne qui fournit des renseignements microeconomiques sur la periode qui va de 1994 a ...

Inmaculada García-Mainar

Papers

Gender Differences in Childcare: Time Allocation in Five European Countries

Education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers: Portugal vs. Spain

Members, Volunteers, and Donors in Nonprofit Organizations in Spain

The Spanish Wage Curve: 1994–1996

Workplace environmental conditions and life satisfaction in Spain