The death of human capital? Its failed promise and how to renew it in an age of disruption
- Hugh Lauder, University of Bath
- Sin Yi Cheung, Cardiff University
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In this seminar, we argue that the human capital story is one of false promise: investing in learning isn’t the road to higher earnings and national prosperity. Returns to education is far from evenly distributed among all graduates. Drawing on empirical data on the highly stratified labour market by gender, class and race, we show how government higher education policies, led by orthodox human capital theorists, are flawed. Rather than abandoning human capital theory, however, we redefine human capital in the age of smart machines by presenting a new human capital theory that addresses the challenge that automation and artificial intelligence will result in the end of waged work. The fundamental problem lies in a lack of quality jobs offering interesting worthwhile and rewarding opportunities. We conclude with an alternative vision to higher education.
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Hugh Lauder is Professor of Education and Political Economy at the University of Bath (1996-to present) and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. His most recent book is: The Death of Human Capital? Its Failed Promise and How to Renew It in an Age of Disruption, New York, Oxford University Press.
Sin Yi Cheung is Professor of Sociology, Co-Director of Research, and Director of the MEAD (Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Diversity) Research Group in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. Her research examines transitions from education to employment, labour market inequalities, migration and refugee integration. She is editor-in-chief Frontiers in Sociology: Race and Ethnicity.