The Human Capital Laboratory
Human capital refers to all of the knowledge, experience, and skills that an individual acquires throughout his or her life and will ‘offer’ to the market in exchange for remuneration.
It is a ‘illiquid’ asset that is inseparable from the person who holds it, representing a resource produced and accumulated through an investment process that involves the foregoing of present income and immediate consumption in exchange for future benefits.
However, the demand for a good exists only when it generates utility: thus, the person “demands” education not only for immediate gratification – a consumption good – but also in the long term, for the acquisition of knowledge required for the realisation of one’s own life and work project, with special attention paid to expected future remuneration (investment good).
As a result, the individual will be enticed to invest in human capital until the costs and benefits of the investment itself are equal (Eurispes, 2017 Italy Report).
Human capital development has a significant impact on the territory’s economic and social development.
Is our system supportive of interventions aimed at removing economic, social, and cultural barriers to human capital development?
The Laboratory’s goal, as coordinated by journalist and writer Benedetta Cosmi, is to involve the entire human capital “chain” through the Eurispes’ research, training, and dissemination work, bringing together public and private entities for a profound and shared reflection on the topic.