Sunday, October 12, 2014

Nathalie Heidema, Chapter 6, Question 7

What I learned in this chapter is how extremely important human capital is and how poverty is linked with it. Why are there poor people and where does the income inequality come from? It all depends on human capital - that means: all our skills, intelligence, health, creativity etc. The price of these skills depends on scarcity. Ronaldo and Messi are one of the best paid football players because nobody else can play like them. Our human capital can be naturally gifted or we obtain it through education or specialized training. "Human capital is by far the most important form of capital in creating wealth and growth." Therefore,new should not neglect investing in our education because it really pays off. A fact that I didn't know was that in some countries the right to immigrate is based on skills and education- human capital! 
And how is this linked with poverty? For example India, one of the poorest countries in the world, has an illiteracy rate of 35%. That means their human capital is not developed and weak. In the US, for example, homeless people are often disabled, mentally ill or addicted, something that affects their human capital.
Also, I broadened my view by looking at the Bill Gates example - he did not take a bigger slice of pie, he made the pie bigger! And so when some people would think that he stole our parts, he actually made us all better off (even if it wasn't his intention). "Human capital creates opportunities."

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