Paul Krugman: The Evolution of Human Capital

[marmar]

The Evolution of Human Capital

Thursday, 27 June 2013 14:16
By Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co. | Op-Ed


Nancy Folbre, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, suggested in recent commentary for The New York Times that the golden age of human capital — roughly speaking, the era in which the economy strongly demanded the kinds of skills we teach in liberal-arts colleges and universities — is already behind us.

She may well be right: after a long stretch when both technology and trade seemed to be undermining only manual labor, it does look as if many skilled occupations are now under threat by Big Data, Bangalore, or both.

I'd just like to add a sort of footnote, inspired by a conversation I had the other day with a Congressional aide. Has there ever before, he asked, been a time when technology undermined skilled labor, instead of making it more necessary than ever?

The answer is, of course, yes, once you realize that there are many kinds of skills, and that book learning hasn't always been the kind that mattered. .......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/17253-the-evolution-of-human-capital

[xchrom]

1. du rec.

[abelenkpe]

2. K&R