Final project artifact on the future of work
- 1. COURSE TITLE:THE FUTURE OF WORK FINAL PROJECT FOCUS:HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX A Presentation by Sylvester Oshita Edor
- 2. Introduction Most Governments especially in developing economies pay more attention on etc.physical infrastructures such as energy, roads, bridges, airport etc. They are however less interested in the Human Capital aspect of investment. The consequence is the wide gap created through a weakened system, not capable of competing with developed economies. The World Bank has developed a new index known as the Human Capital Index.
- 3. Human Capital Index It is an index to measure the extent to which human capital contributes to the productivity of the next generation of workers. According to the World Bank. the index will be launched at their annual meeting at Bali in October,2019. The index focuses on the extent of a country’s investment on health as well as education that a child born today can achieve by the age of 18;
- 4. Basic Issues Various researches have shown that: A quarter of children especially in developing economies under 5 years are malnourished; More than 260 million children in the developing countries still fall short of learning proficiency; Teachers are not adequately trained; Governments are failing to invest in their population,probably due to the long term required for such investments to be materialised.
- 5. Advantages of Investing in Human Capital Focusing on human capital in the first 1000 days of a child’s life is one of the most cost effective investments required of Governments; It should be noted that proper nutrition and stimulation in the uterus and during early childhood improve physical and mental well being later in life; Although the above can as well be achieved later in life but with a higher cost. Therefore, maternal education is needed; Investments in human capital is capable of improving the cognitive and socio- behavioural skills of children required for large economic returns; Early investments in education in South West Nigeria through school feeding in the 70s gave the zone advantage over other parts of the country.
- 6. Advantages Cont’d Currently, the zone boasts of the most educated people in the country; Each household has at least an individual with Professorial qualification and they have excelled in various spheres of life; Increased sensitization on the importance of immunization in Northern Nigeria has drastically reduced cases of polio and cerebral meningitis ; Death of infants has also reduced by 30%.
- 7. Way Forward In vestment in human capital must be championed by the State/Government; Discrimination of sexes should be abolished; Rating agencies such as the World Bank, Transparency International etc must consistently provide information to spur governments action; Tax loopholes and exemptions should be closed; Revenue collection should be improved through apprpropriate fiscal policies; More sensitization on removal of subsidies and trust to establish social contract; Corruption should be eliminated.