NICHOLSON ON HUMAN CAPITAL
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.1974.tb00187.x |
| Published date | 01 June 1974 |
| Author | B. F. KIKER |
| Date | 01 June 1974 |
Scottish
Journal
of
Political
Economy
Vol.
XXI,
No.
2,
June
1974
NICHOLSON ON HUMAN CAPITAL
B.
F.
KIKER
I
INTRODUCTION
In the last fifteen years, eoonomists have devoted
a
great deal
of
effort
to
developing and quantifying the concept
of
human capital, and applying it,
through the concept
of
investment
in
the hatian of human capital
to
such
aotivities as education,
medical
care,
human migration,
and
the search for
information. According
to
Gary
Becker (Schultz,
1972,
p.
xvi),
‘
the analysis
of
investment in human capital has developed from modat beginnings into
a major field
of
study responsible
for
a
significant breakthrough in
our
under-
standing
of
economic
behaviour.’
As
I
have shown elsewhem, however, the
concept of human capital
is
by
no
means new (Kiker.
1966).
Many past
economists, and non-economists, have considered human beings
or
their
acquired skills and
abilities
as capital. Although several motives
for
treating
human beings
as
capital and valuing them in money terns
are
to
be found in
the literature, most
of
the well-known
names
in athe history
d
economic
thought neither attempted
an
evaluation
of
human capital
nor
employed
the concept for any
specific
purpose.
They did, however, include humans
or
their acquired skills in their definition
of
capital and recognized the impor-
tance
of
investment in human beings as
a
faotor increasing their productivity
(Kiker,
1966).
There were, however,
a
few important exceptions.
List
(Kiker,
1966)
used the notion
of
human capital in demonstrating the importance
of
protectionism and von
Thiinen
(Kiker,
1969)
advocated utilig the notion
as an aid
in
dealing out
social
justice.
Marshall (Kiker,
1968),
moreover,
followed
Petty
in
offering
some
estimates
of
human-capital values.
Although perhaps not as well known as those mentioned above,
but
nevertheless
an
influential eoonomist and prolific writer during his era,
J.
Shield Nicholson, who
was
appointed in
1880
to
the
Chair
of Political
Economy
in the University
of
Edinburgh, treated acquired skills and abilities
(as well
as
implioitly man himself) as capital, utilized &e concept
of
human
capital
for
a
specific purpose, and offered estimates
of
human
capital
values.
He was one
of
(the few early economists to undertake
a
rather systematic
analysis
of
human wealth. Accordingly, the purpose
of
this
paper
is
to
review Nicholson’s views on human capital.
I1
HUMANS
OR THEIR
SKILLS
AS
CAPITAL
While discussing ‘dispuited questions regarding capital,’ in his
Prin-
cipZes,
Nicholson
(1902,
p.
95)
asked the question:
Does
the concept
of
capital include personal
or
immaterial capital?
171
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