0.6 Investment in human capital: education and health  (Page 3/16)

Clearly, the ratio of Human Capital to Physical Capital increased greatly over the past several decades (when Human Capital is measured as the number of effective units of skilled labor). Human Capital formation has also had important effects on health in such nations as the U.S. (Cutler&Lleras-Muney). David M. Cutler&Adriana Lleras-Muney (2006, July), “Education and Health: Evaluating Theories and Evidence”, NBER Working Paper No. 12352.

Older findings (1999) indicated that age-adjusted mortality rate for high school dropouts age 25-64 was twice as large as those with some college.

Newer findings for the U.S., where human capital has been most studied, indicate that:

• An additional year of education increased earnings by 10% or $80k in present value over the course of a lifetime.
• The health implications of investment in human capital are notable.
• One more year of education led to increased life expectancy by 0.18 years in the U.S. Further,
• An additional four years of education lowers mortality by 1.8 percentage points; reduces heart disease by 2.16% points and reduces diabetes risk by 1.3% points. The interaction between Human Capital investment and health is therefore clear.

Later in this chapter, we turn to more explicit attention to investment in public health in emerging nations.

Varieties of forms of investments in human k – vocational education

There is richness in experience in Human K formation that is not often recognized. The contribution of Vocational education is an example. Here is an example of what can be done by resourceful people in poor countries for large payoffs for the poor. It is also one good example of effects of foreign aid.

Vietnam: hoa sua vocational training school

The author made annual visits to Vietnam each year over a ten year period from 2004-2014 first to help oversee selection of scholars for a program that places students in PhD programs in science and public health, then as a member of the Board of Trustees of a new University there, Tan Tao, near Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2007, in a restaurant in a hotel in Hanoi, he came across a large group of young men and women being led about by a mentor, explaining food service and hospitality in leading hotels.

These young people turned out to be students from Hoa Sua School— orphans and street children and hearing-impaired young adults ready to place their skills on the job market.

Hou Sua was founded in 1994 by six retired Vietnamese woman who set up a cooking school to transfer their skills. Within a few months they realized that orphaned and troubled youth in Hanoi had zero opportunity for school of any kind , not even vocational training. Scratching together funds, they opened a restaurant featuring Vietnamese and European cooking; a bakery, etc. Earnings from the restaurant financed the school.

Their fruitful work was noticed in 2000 by the French Government. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded new buildings for the school at a new site. Then the school was linked to the Versailles Chamber of Commerce in France, enabling them to offer coveted diplomas called “Certificat d’Aptitude Professionalle.”