Skill Formation and Human Capital Investment
Skill Formation and Human Capital Investment
The project studied the formation of human capital at different stages of the life-cycle based on multidisciplinary research, including views from economics, econometrics, neurobiology, survey analysis, and motivational psychology. The project expanded the ZEW's European and international networks. Our approach may help families, schools, governments and firms to formulate policies to foster the human capital of the future. Research was organised around the following topics:1. Theory, methods and dataSuitable models have been developed for cognitive and non-cognitive skill formation all along the life-cycle that allowed us to study the effect of private and public educational investments on the individual and social well-being. Informal as well as formal education was considered. The properties of the technology of skill formation, self-productivity and complementarity, was analysed. In cooperation with SOEP Berlin and ZI Mannheim, adequate cross-section as well as longitudinal data was utilized for microeconometric research on the determinants and economic consequences of cognitive and noncognitive skills and human capital investment over the life-cycle.2. Early childhood and the familyThis part was devoted to the first fundamental period of skill acquisition: early childhood. In this period, mothers, fathers, the family of origin at large, friends and preschool institutions provide crucial inputs for subsequent skill acquisition. We studied the amount and quality of educational investment made by parents, their interaction with the preschool institutions as well as early skill acquisition until the age of five. The impact of an integration of kindergarten and primary education on the skills development of children has been analysed.3. Formal education from childhood to early adulthoodThis area focussed on cognitive and non-cognitive skill formation in formal educational institutions. This includes all formal stages of education from the primary school to university as well as vocational secondary school and alternative types of post secondary education. We conducted studies on e.g. the effect of school systems on educational performance, on the quality of teachers evaluation methods, on the introduction of information technologies in developing countries, and on the transition to the Bachelor system in the EU countries.4. Labour market outcomes and life-long learningIn this part, life -long learning and the long-term consequences of skill acquisition has been researched. Among others, the relationship between skill and health formation, labour market participation, hours of work, occupational choice (e.g. self-employment) tenure and wages and their distribution was investigated. Empirical research on the relationship between the heterogeneity of cognitive and noncognitive skills, economic growth and income inequality was conducted. Based on the empirical evidence, policies to foster human capital had been discussed.
