Human Capital in Europe : A Challenge for Public Finances

Date

mardi 18 septembre 2007

de 00h00 à 00h00

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Lieu

Présentation

A conference on higher education and migration organised by Bruegel (Think Tank européen Brussels), ifo Institute (Munich) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (Berlin), à Berlin le 18 septembre 2007, en langues allemande et anglaise. La participation est gratuite. Voir programme ci-joint. (S’inscrire avant le 12 septembre 2007.)

While the USA actively maintains a human capital lead, developing countries (especially China and India) are swiftly catching up with their rapid expansion of university education. Europe, however, has high levels of physical capital but is less dynamic in generating and attracting human capital. Europe risks being squeezed out of the core value-creation chains of the knowledge economy. At the same time, the global competition for mobile talent is increasingly fierce. World class locations for economic activity need top talent – including foreign talent. Failure to attract it also makes it more difficult to retain local highpotentials.

Secondary and higher education policies in Europe, as well as conditions for high-skilled immigrants, are critical in determining the future growth dynamic of the European economies. Thus, Europe’s stock of human capital and its future expansion are of central importance to the long-term sustainability of public finances.

But which tasks in the education system should, in the long run, be carried out by the state and which by the markets? Since education policy in Germany is autonomously decided by the Länder, what role should Europe or indeed the Federal Government play? What growth and distributional effects will emerge from investments in education and high-skilled immigration?

For registration, please contact Christin Zabel
Fax: +49 – 30 – 22 42 88 1905
email: bruegel@bmf.bund.de