Investing in Human Capital: A Capital Markets Approach to Student Funding

by Miguel Palacios Lleras, Nicholas Barr

Overview

This study recommends employing "human capital contracts" wherein students agree to pay a percentage of their income over time in exchange for funds to finance their education. The main difference between "human capital contracts" and loans is the variable value of the payments students make during the repayment period. Their financial consequences, of risk transfer from students to investors and increased information regarding future graduates' earnings, make the contracts an attractive alternative in funding higher education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521828406
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/11/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Miguel Palacios Lleras is a Fellow at the Batten Institute, Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. He is the author of numerous papers on financing human capital and is co-founder of Lumni, a company that manages human capital funds.

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. The Problem of Financing Education: 1. The value of education; 2. Market failure in the financing of education; 3. The need for alternatives to traditional funding; Part II. Equity-Like Investments to Finance Education: 4. The evolution of human capital contracts; 5. How human capital contracts work; 6. The case for human capital contracts; 7. Human capital options; Part III. Implementing Human Capital Contracts: 8. Hurdles in the implementation of human capital contracts; 9. Lessons from the implementation of income-contingent loans; 10. Government-driven implementation of human capital contracts; 11. Conclusion; Appendices; Notes; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Miguel Palacios Lleras has written the authoritative work on the revolution that is underway to integrate human capital into our financial system. The book makes the dimensions of this revolution clear, and provides real impetus and inspiration to propel it to the next level in the future. The results for our society and our lives will be profound.' Robert J. Schiller, Yale University, and author of The New Financial Order and Irrational Exuberance

'Little can be more important to the welfare of our civilization than finding ways to match educational opportunities to human capability. Too often, human resources are squandered by failure to make these opportunities available to deserving but poorly financed individuals. Investing in Human Capital describes an exciting remedy: equity investments in the fruits of educational investment. Although this idea is not new, it is virtually untried and this book more than any other shows in detail how to turn it into a successful reality.' Mark Rubinstein, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

From the Publisher