scholarly journals Human capital investments as sources of skills: An analysis at different entrepreneurship phases

Author(s):  
M. Anastacia Mamabolo ◽  
Myres Kerrin ◽  
Tumo Kele

<strong>Background:</strong> Entrepreneurs need entrepreneurial skills to run their businesses. Skills can come from various sources, and the usage of the sources of skills can vary according to the different entrepreneurship phases.<p><strong>Aim:</strong> Adopting a human capital theory perspective, this study determined the specific human capital investments as sources of skills needed by entrepreneurs across the different entrepreneurship phases. The sources of skills included work experience, formal education, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship experience.</p><p><strong>Setting:</strong> Entrepreneurs at the different entrepreneurship phases which are nascent (entrepreneurs with ventures less than 3 months in existence), new business (entrepreneurs with ventures with more than 3 months but less than 3.5 years in existence) and established business (entrepreneurs with ventures more than 3.5 years in existence).</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> The study employed a survey research design. An online questionnaire was used to collect the data.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The results show that the sources of skills are used differently across the entrepreneurship phases. As entrepreneurs start businesses, in the nascent phase, the use of human capital investments (especially formal education) as a source of skills declines, thus creating a need to acquire more entrepreneurship-specific investments. In addition to acquiring skills from human capital investments, entrepreneurs learn skills from people in their social networks and self-taught skills which are used differently across the different entrepreneurship phases.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The findings indicate that the human capital investments are dynamic and change over time as the entrepreneurship phases unfold. Because there are different sources of skills for each entrepreneurship phase, entrepreneurs need to be treated according to their phases.</p>

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Waldman ◽  
Ori Zax

In a world characterized by asymmetric learning, promotions can serve as signals of worker ability, and this, in turn, can result in inefficient promotion decisions. If the labor market is competitive, the result will be practices that reduce this distortion. We explore how this logic affects human capital investment decisions. We show that, if commitment is possible, investments will be biased toward the accumulation of firm-specific human capital. We also consider what happens when commitment is not possible and show a number of results including that, if investment choices are not publicly observable, choices are frequently efficient. (JEL D82, J24, J31, M12, M51)


2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 811-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Wasmer

Human capital investments are not independent of the aggregate state of labor markets: frictions and slackness of the labor market raise the returns to specific human capital investments relative to general investments. We build a macroeconomic model with two pure strategy regimes. In the pure G-regime, workers invest in general skills. This occurs when they face high turnover labor markets and in the absence of employment protection. The pure 5-regime in which workers invest in skills specific to their job appears when employment protection is high enough. Implications for a characterization of Europe-United States differences are provided in conclusion.


Author(s):  
S. Zhukov ◽  
V. Zelic ◽  
S. Soima

As a result of the conducted research the problems of development of human capital and basic pre-conditions of providing of his competitiveness are certain. Analyzed the loud speaker of charges on development of education and health protection of summary budget of Ukraine and measures on the improvement of economic situation in Ukraine and providing of development of human capital are offered. The basic types of investments are certain in a human capital on levels and subjects of investing. The mechanism of forming of human capital is presented. The mechanism of forming of human capital is presented. It is grounded, that for strategic development of human capital of Ukraine and achievement of equilibrium and balanced of economy in the conditions of globalization modernization of public policy is needed in area of education, namely, creation of the system of education, oriented to forming and development of skills and jurisdictions of man, necessary for innovative activity. Keywords human capital, investments in a human capital, competitiveness, economic state of affairs, payment for work.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucila Berniell

AbstractInformality is pervasive in many developing countries and it can affect occupational and educational decisions. Cross-country data shows that the rate of entrepreneurship as well as the gap between the skill premium for entrepreneurs and for workers increase with the size of the informal economy. Also, in countries with larger informal sectors the fraction of high-skilled individuals that choose to be entrepreneurs is larger. To explain these facts, I develop a model economy with human capital investments, occupational choice and an informal sector, in which the investment in human capital improves the efficiency of labor as well as managerial skills, and the technology to produce goods exhibits capital-skill complementarity. Model predictions can account for cross-country evidence and also shed light on the mechanisms at work when the level of informality in the economy increases. In particular, a higher level of informality discourages human capital investments for workers while it incentivizes these investments for the case of some managers, mostly informal but talented.


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