INCREASING ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS A COMPONENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL

Human capital is a key production resource that is available to the greatest part of population. The investments in education and training contribute to the growth of economic efficiency. There are many proofs in support of the thesis that investment in education is stimulating to economic growth, course of average labour productivity and growth of real earnings. There is a strong correlation between the education and earnings: higher educational level implies higher level of wages, while higher salaries further motivate people to acquire permanent education. Human capital practically vanishes unless it is used. In such cases, human capital acts consistently nearly equally to financial capital, by displacing into the environments where higher yields are expected. The above explicated approach to research is often criticised, especially bearing in mind its static character. In real life, the degree of material embodiment of human capital is mostly the function of ability of involvement in activities of lifelong education and acquisition of practical skills. Economic value of human capital depends on its contribution to creation of values of goods and services. Hence, the possibility that certain components of human capital are highly evaluated at specific time and in particular environment, while without any significance in other circumstances should be always borne in mind. Relative value of particular components of human capital greatly depend on the stage of economic and social development of a country where their meaning is perceived. In present conditions of earning, in the process of creation of human capital, the activities directed towards lifelong education and professional advancement and digital literacy have become increasingly significant. Education, and especially higher education, contributes to economic and social development of certain communities in most various ways. In accordance with the approach to basic needs, education is increasingly recognised as an elementary need which helps to satisfy many other needs and contributes to the life quality improvement. In the educational policy, rapid development of technology imposes two key conclusions. The first is that education should be directed towards the capability of acquisition of new knowledge during lifetime (the ability to learn is learnt), while the other is dissemination of education to all social strata. The competence of human capital includes the application of new knowledge in everyday practice. Therefore it is not surprising that this form of capital permanently increases its participation in the structure of total capital in all contemporary economies. At the same time, the attitude that human capital is a backbone of overall development of each nation (economic, social etc.) is predominant in economic science today, while education is its most significant framework.