what is the difference between human capital formation and human development ?

Human capital and human development are interrelated concepts but they are not identical. While human capital refers to the stock of a nation’s human skills and expertise at a particular point of time human development refers to holistic development and well being of a nation’s human capital. On one hand, human capital considers education and health as a means (skills and expertises) to enhance productive capacity, on the other hand human development considers human beings as end in itself. The important difference between human capital and human development is associated with the difference in the motive of investment. While human capital focuses on t investment in education and health sector to increase productivity and efficiency of workforce,on the other hand, human development focuses on investment in education and health sector to increase the general well being and standard and quality of living of human capital. If investment fails to increase the efficiency and income earning capacity, then human capital regards the investment to be unproductive. But, human development advocates in favour of such investments even though these had failed to bring out higher productivity and efficiency. Human development protects every individual’s right to get education and lead a healthy life.

• The term human capital formation implies the development of abilities and skills among the population of the country. In order to transform the liability of the huge size of population into assets adoption of various measures for human capital formation is very much essential.
• Human capital is a term popularized by Gary Becker, an economist from the University of Chicago, and Jacob Mincer that refers to the stock of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value.