In recent years, a renewed interest has emerged in the substantial and persistent socio-economic inequalities that exist in modern societies. These inequalities may be associated with differences in the education level of individuals, discriminatory forces, changes in the demand for jobs ("robotization") and health differences. For policymakers, a pertaining question is therefore on the use and usefulness of public investments in education and health, as well as regulatory measures to create a level playing field. This concerns both the theoretical arguments for policy interventions and the evidence on their effectiveness.

This course will address the origins of these socio-economic inequalities, using theories and empirical findings from the literature. Amongst others, questions that are addressed are on the returns to education (for individuals and society at large), the consequences of robotization, skill-biased technological change, discrimination at the labour market and how nature and nurture affect the health of individuals.

Human capital can be viewed as capital derived from investments in education and health. Both factors determine the returns on the labour 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 labour market till prime ages and later when they enter the phase from working age into retirement. The resulting differences in educational achievement and labour market and health outcomes may lead to persistent and substantial socio-economic disparities.

Throughout this 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. This both concerns older, seminal articles and very recent work.

Prior course title was: Human Capital Across the Life Cycle- Period 5

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.