Human capital development

ACCORDING to economist Julian Simon, “the ultimate resource is people — especially skilled, spirited, and hopeful young people endowed with liberty — who will exert their wills and imaginations for their own benefits, and so inevitably they will benefit the rest of us as well”. How does a nation ensure that its people will be skilled and spirited? It must educate its people to endow them with various skills, keep them healthy, and enable them to develop into productive human beings. Economists call this process ‘human capital development’, and it is an essential part of overall economic development and growth. As Allama Iqbal said, “While you are still immature, you are a heap of dust; When you ripen, you will become an irresistible sword.” ‘Ripen’ here embodies self-development through human capital development, which enables a nation to overcome any challenge. Education not only develops individuals to overcome personal challenges, it also enables nations to achieve their objectives. Research papers worldwide, including in Pakistan, show that it is not just labour, land and capital that contribute to economic growth, but also human capital, which is distinct from labour and at the same time embodies it.