Investing in human capital, the capital oh the 21st Century

Mathilde LEMOINE Economist and Professor at Science Po Paris [vc_btn title= »Download the article » style= »outline » color= »blue » align= »right » i_icon_fontawesome= »fa fa-file-pdf-o » add_icon= »true » link= »url:http%3A%2F%2Fprod.confrontations.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2FRevue-107-Investing-in-human-capital-the-capital-of-the-21st-Century-p11.pdf||target:%20_blank »] Juncker’s investment plan should include a component on “human capital investment”. Because business or public investment has a more rapid impact on growth than human capital, the latter is strikingly absent from National and Europe’s various investment plans. The European Commission’s new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has made the mobilisation of 300 billion euros in investment the key focus of the next Commission’s policy orientations. Unfortunately, this is not enough to boost long- term growth in Europe. The economy is sluggish mainly because the overall labour force is insufficiently skilled and because economic policies lack coordination. Obsolescence of human capital is the key challenge of Europeans. Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Union investment plan needs to have a section devoted to “investing in human capital”. Progress could be made We wouldn’t be in