Human Capital - The Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics

Human Capital and Economic Opportunity: A Global Working Group

About the Working Group

The Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group is a global network of researchers from multiple disciplines that seeks to restore and strengthen human capital development research.

It establishes a community of researchers, educators and policymakers focused on human development (including health and psychology) and related issues in finance, macroeconomics and inequality, with the aim of promoting easy, effective collaboration.

The working group will focus on the failure of markets to accurately price the economic value of human capital and the consequences of these failures, notably economic development distortions, declining growth, rising economic inequality and difficulty correcting fiscal imbalances. Currently seven topical working groups have been established to explore specific aspects of these issues.
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Human Capital Events

Conference Call to Discuss Early Childhood ‘Pay-For-Success’
 Join Youth Human Capital Working Group coordinator Robert Dugger on April 26, 2012 for a discussion on his recent paper, "Early Childhood ‘Pay-For-Success’ Social Impact Finance."
Details »
Measuring and Interpreting Inequality Group Held Conference Feb. 18
This meeting provided a forum for collaboration and exchange, with a focus on matching and market design issues.
Details »

News

Progress Report Available
The latest progress report of the working group is now available for download here
Members Attend INET Conference in Berlin
The Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group took part in the Institute for New Economic Thinking's third annual plenary conference in Berlin April 12–15. Rob Dugger, James Heckman, and Armin Falk took part in a panel called "Inequality and the Challenge of Employment."
Conference videos » | Heckman slides »
Heckman Speaks at White House Early Education Announcement
Professor James J. Heckman spoke of empirically proven economic and social gains from quality early childhood education and care at a ceremony announcing Early Learning Challenge Grants.
Read remarks » (.pdf)

Supported by

Institute for New Economic Thinking

James Heckman