Teória ľudského kapitálu a súčasná slovenská ekonomika
HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY AND CURRENT SLOVAK ECONOMY

Summary/Abstract: The main goal of the paper is to point out to the implications of the human capital theory for current Slovak economy. In the first part of the paper the author specifies conditions, which lead to the development of the human capital theory as a systematic methodo-logical approach, which in a determining manner influenced several applied areas of economics. A rational individual will invest into his/her human capital up to the point where marginal revenue from this investment will equal the opportunity costs of resources needed for this investment. Then, the earning differentials among different individuals can be to a large extend explained by different investments into their human capital. This hypothesis became a staring point of the abundant number of empirical stu-dies. Looking at current earning differentials of individuals with different level of educa-tion as well as unemployment rates of labour force with different levels of education in Slovakia shows that the human capital hypothesis is valid also in Slovak conditions, which has a clear-cut implication. Documented private returns of individuals with higher education can be used as an argument in favour of strengthening their cost-share on this investment. In recent decades the human capital concept has been utilized also in the analysis of the economic growth as a part of endogenous theories of economic growth. The contri-bution of human capital to the economic growth is generally accepted and considered to be its most important social benefit. In this context human capital is considered an endogenous factor of economic growth. The message of these models, that a country with accumulated large quantities of human capital, investing into its research, creates the predispositions for its dynamic economic growth, is relevant also for the formulation of growth policies in the current Slovak economy. Human capital theory influenced also models of migration. In their context the dis-tinction is made between the specific human capital, which can be utilised in specific conditions of a given country, or region, and the non-specific human capital, which can be utilised regardless on the geographic location. High share of the specific human capi-tal on the overall stock of capital can weaken the impetus of the labour force to migra-tion. The utilisation of the human capital theory in the analysis of migration draws atten-tion to externalities of migration. Although from the global perspective the migration contributes to the increase of economic efficiency, since the labour force moves into regions, where it is more productive, for an individual country, which looses its qualified and young labour force, as it is currently the case in Slovakia, it represents an important problem.

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