Human capabilities versus human capital: gauging the value of education in developing countries

dc.citation.epage304en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber2en_US
dc.citation.spage287en_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber78en_US
dc.contributor.authorWigley, S.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-01-28T06:22:16Z
dc.date.available2019-01-28T06:22:16Z
dc.date.issued2006en_US
dc.departmentDepartment of Philosophyen_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this study is to defend the view that education should be evaluated in terms of the capability to achieve valued functionings, rather than mental satisfaction or resources. In keeping with Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach we argue that mental satisfaction provides an inaccurate metric of well-being because of the phenomenon of adaptive preferences. Equally, resources cannot be used as a metric of well-being because of inequalities in the ability to convert income and commodities into valued functionings. Hence, interpreting education as a means to create human capital is also impoverished because it evaluates education solely in terms of the accumulation of resources. In order to provide evidence in support of the human capabilities approach we statistically examine the channels through which educational attainment affects the health functionings implied by life expectancy. Using panel data analysis for 35 developing countries for the years 1990, 1995 and 2000 we compare the health functionings (as indicated by life expectancy) that are achieved by the income growth generated by educational attainment, with the total health functionings that are achieved by educational attainment. We find that educational attainment (as indicated by average years of schooling) has a significant effect on life expectancy independently of its effect by way of income growth. A 1% increase in per capita income increases life expectancy by 0.073954% while a 1% increase in average years of schooling directly increases life expectancy by 0.055324%. Because it shows that income underestimates the health functionings achieved by educational attainment, our empirical findings lend support to the claim that the value of education should be measured in terms of the capability for functioning, rather than resources.en_US
dc.description.provenanceSubmitted by Osman Bilgin (bosman@bilkent.edu.tr) on 2019-01-28T06:22:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Human_capabilities_versus_human_capital.pdf: 230092 bytes, checksum: e57b6bd6fe009f3f7a3e2a1f43b93176 (MD5)en
dc.description.provenanceMade available in DSpace on 2019-01-28T06:22:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Human_capabilities_versus_human_capital.pdf: 230092 bytes, checksum: e57b6bd6fe009f3f7a3e2a1f43b93176 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006en
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s11205-005-0209-7en_US
dc.identifier.issn0303-8300
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11693/48402
dc.language.isoEnglishen_US
dc.publisherSpringeren_US
dc.relation.isversionofhttp://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-0209-7en_US
dc.source.titleSocial Indicators Researchen_US
dc.subjectCapabilities Approachen_US
dc.subjectDevelopmenten_US
dc.subjectEducational Attainmenten_US
dc.subjectFunctioningsen_US
dc.subjectHuman Capitalen_US
dc.subjectLife Expectancyen_US
dc.subjectWell-beingen_US
dc.titleHuman capabilities versus human capital: gauging the value of education in developing countriesen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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