human capital

noun

: the skills, knowledge, and qualifications of a person, group, or workforce considered as economic assets

Nothing is more important to a company, nation, or individual than intelligence. It is the fundamental key to problem-solving and wealth creation, and underpins the human capital that drives every company and nation forward.

—Peter H. Diamandis

In fact, the evidence suggests that public investments in human capital, including higher education, yield long-term economic rates of return that far exceed most standard investments in technology or capital.

—Edward L. Glaeser

All of this coincided with the emergence in academe of the idea of "human capital": the notion that the more skilled the work force, the more productive it tends to be.

—Denis P. Doyle et al.

Examples of human capital in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mitch Mitchell leads the coaching practice at FMG Leading, a human capital strategy and advisory firm. —Mitch Mitchell, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

Meanwhile, the Russian economy is overheating; public spending is exploding, as are inflation and interest rates, and the country is losing its human capital and technological edge. —Elie Tenenbaum, Foreign Affairs, 3 Dec. 2024

In report, researchers believe that bias is to blame for more than half of the pay gap for Latinas, citing studies which found that workers with the same human capital attributes still presented a 33 percent wage gap for Hispanic women—relative to white men. —Lyanne Alfaro, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024

Beyond human capital, the United States needs to spark a housing construction boom by drastically reducing environmental regulations and to eliminate subsidies for builders, letting the market work. —Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above