Professor James Heckman Gathers Prominent Scholars, Business Leaders, and Educators To Discuss Financing Human Capital Development

Nobel Prize Winner and University of Chicago Distinguished Professor James Heckman Gathers Prominent Scholars, Business Leaders, and Educators To Discuss Financing Human Capital Development

Chicago, January 20, 2012 – Prominent economists and policy practitioners from across the globe gathered in Chicago earlier this month to discuss the latest advancements in human capital research. Mariacristina De Nardi of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and NBER, and Lance Lochner of the University of Western Ontario organized presentations and discussions of six papers with topics ranging from “The Money Value of Man” to “The Macroeconomics of Microfinance.” De Nardi and Lochner head the Markets Network. The Markets network was created to study how market frictions affect human capital formation and to determine the effects of policies designed to overcome the borrowing constraints that arise in the presence of such frictions. The network is a component of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group (HCE), which is headed by Nobel Prize winner and University of Chicago Distinguished Professor of Economics James Heckman , along with Hanover Investment Group’s Robert Dugger, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Vilas Research Professor Steven Durlauf.

As emphasized in Professor Heckman’s concluding comments, the conference represents the beginning of a systematic effort to understand the relationship between human capital development at the micro level and macro levels. The conference was unique in its bringing together macroeconomists who consider the aggregate consequences of heterogeneity and microeconomists whose research focuses on education. Heckman commended this integration of scholars who normally do not communicate, yet whose work must be integrated if one is to understand the role of finance in human capital formation. Heckman commended these new interactions and urged conference participants to move even farther by broadening their conceptions of the environment in which human capital development occurs and to evaluate potential interventions accordingly. Professor Heckman suggested that human capital accumulation cannot be understood in the context of credit markets alone, so the focus of the research network should be enriched by considering family and community influences. These recommendations reflect the overall objective of HCE to develop a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of human flourishing, of which human capital is an essential component.

For a detailed view of the conference agenda and participants please visit the HCE website at http://hceconomics.org.