Human Capital Across the Life Cycle- Period 5

Human capital can be viewed as capital derived from investments in education and health. Both factors determine the returns on the labor market (work outcomes, income and wealth) and in general individual well-being. The joint distribution of education, work, income and health evolves across the life cycles of individuals as they grow from childhood, where they make educational choices, to adolescence and when they enter the labor market till prime ages and later when they enter the phase from working age into retirement. In the final stage the larger part of health care is consumed.

The course starts with an overview of some stylized facts concerning the returns to education, labour and health. Next, we introduce the most important microeconomic models of investment behavior in the field of education, labor (search) and health. Throughout the course, theories are confronted with empirical papers that test these theories and their consequences for public policy in the area of education, income, health and work. Finally, we address the issue of how to appropriately test for discrimination and evaluate the effectiveness of public and social policies in the field of education, income, health and work.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.