Improvement of the Human Capital in Canada - Research Paper Example

Improve Human Capital Income, Inequality and poverty: improve human capital (early and late education) Introduction The human capital remains an essential element in the economic development of any country. This capital comprises of skills and experiences possessed by the citizens, that can enable citizens to remain economically productive (Mankiw, 2011). Achieving significant economic development depends immensely on the skills of the workforce employed in the country. The development of human capital occurs through education and experience. While education provides individuals with theoretical development, experience offers individuals with practical development through equipping the people with relevant skills. Comprehensive development includes increasing the knowledge and skill of employees within the workforce. While the initial benefits occur in the industry, the individuals achieve surmountable development through increased knowledge. Highly qualified human capital could contribute immensely into the economic development of different countries. The productivity of any industry depends heavily on the available skills utilized in the manufacturing of products. The human capital can determine the quality of products produced within a country, owing to the skills possessed by the people (Crook et al, 2011). Development of quality production, therefore, would include initial development of human capital at early stages. A proper development program would essentially provide policies seeking to initiate human capital development in schools, while offering support to the individuals within the program. Improving human capital through education remains the most popular method of approaching the development paradigm in human capital. Trade off The selection of this policy from the broad policy area of income, inequality, and poverty, follows a consideration of the aspects involved in the other policy choices. Within the broad area are three policy categories, seeking to elevate the Canadian citizens from excessive levels of poverty. The broad category involves three elements; income, inequality and poverty. The selection would involve a policy that would sufficiently address the challenges involved in the three categories identified (Riddell, 2007). While the other policy choices involve implementation of multiple policies in achieving target objectives, this policy choice remains simplified in terms of implementation process. The enriching of anti-poverty programs would involve numerous programs across the country, which could potentially raise the costs of implementing the policy. The other policy categories remain broad and lack specificity in terms of beginning points and target groups for the policy. The selected policy offers clear definition of the intended population and implementation stage. The policy does not appear to pose any imminent negative impacts on the Canadian economy. The policy however, seems to possess a surmountable amount of benefits, following successful implementation. While the economy stands to reap immense benefits from the policy, the Canadian citizens shall also benefit from the policy implementation. This policy would improve the skills of the Canadian citizens, hence increasing their chances of gaining meaningful employment opportunities, within the country and outside. The policy remains sustainable owing to the potential benefits presented by the policy on the Canadian population. Reducing poverty using development of human capital remains a better option than the other proposed policies. While the other policies might provide quick solutions, their sustainability remains questionable from the potential financial implications for the implementation of the policy. A balance of the potential benefits and financial implications inherently leads to the selection of this policy. The policy contains a long-term solution to the poverty problem imminent within the Canadian population. Sustainability of this policy remains with the capability for the policy to cater fro majority of the citizens’ requirements. Improve human capital (early and late education). ECE for some more financial access to post secondary Improvement of the human capital, through provision of education, would ensure the Canadian citizens remain equipped with the necessary employment skills. Equipping the citizens with essential employment skills would increase the chances of getting employment opportunities. With the employment probability increased, the citizens would be in position to seek good employment opportunities in different places. Gaining employment could be identified as the beginning point for reducing the prevalent poverty within the population (Ingham, 2007). With employment, the population would increase its income level significantly. Increased income significantly improves the economic status of the citizens and country as well. The well-being of the citizens highly depends on the ability of citizens to sufficiently support their livelihoods. While destitution might not be prevalent within the Canadian population, a significant level of poverty exists among the people. Necessity arises, therefore, to implement policies seeking to eliminate the present poverty among the population. Provision of essential skills, for employment, amounts to empowering of the population to become self-reliant. The policy could enhance the skills and experience possessed by the population essentially assisting them in uplifting their economic status. The development of human capita in early stages of life immensely helps the individuals to establish a strong background. This also ensures children remain in a position to gain meaningful employment opportunities when they reach adulthood. The policy would include development of human capital through improving access to education. Offering children with life experiences in early childhood prepares them for the challenges of adulthood, potentially increasing their capability to handle complex situations. Children and parents benefit significantly from the experiences, as dependability of children on parents becomes reduced. Since the policy seeks to establish a long-term solution to persistent poverty and low income levels, focusing on the young generation of the population remains critical in ensuring future success. Upon implementing the policy, the country would maintain stability following availability of essential human capital within the country (Mises, 2006). The government would not worry about human capital in future as the population shall contain trained individuals to drive the economy ahead. Successful implementation of the policy would reduce dependability on expatriates in offering human capital within the country. Human capital remains the driving force of economic growth; therefore, implementation of this policy would significantly enhance economic growth (Krugman, Wells, & Graddy, 2010). The country could achieve great economic growth through developed human capital. The quality of manufactured products within the country would increase leading to improved demand for the products. Economic benefits from this policy would include expansion of the Canadian industries owing to availability of human capital. The production costs in manufacturing would also be reduced through utilizing the skills of local people. The costs of hiring international employees remains high and with available human capital, hiring expatriates could become eliminated. Implementing the policy would also address the challenge of inequality among the population. Since education shall be provided equally among all people, a balance in the equality in distribution of government resources would be achieved. The development program within schools would follow a specified curriculum eliminating any discrimination, and ensuring equitable distribution of government resources. Implementing the policy would ensure future workforce remains updated with relevant technology involved in the production processes. Conclusion The selection of policies seeking to eliminate poverty involves considering several aspects involved in the policy implementation. Serious consideration of the essential elements involved establishes the most sustainable policy among many proposed policies. Assessment of the sustainability critically analyses the ability for the policy to achieve target objectives, using available resources (Baker, 2006). Sustainability also critically analyses the comprehensibility of the proposed policy in terms of clarity and ability to satisfy the imminent challenge. The ability for the policy to remain relevant through the changing times immensely affects the policy sustainability. The selected policy ought to posses the ability to integrate numerous changes, which may result from technological advancement. The selected policy aims at achieving the desired result using minimal resources. References Baker, S. (2006). Sustainable development. New York: Routledge. Crook, T. R. (2011). Does human capital matter? A meta-analysis of the relationship between human capital and firm performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3) , 443- 456. Ingham, J. (2007). Strategic human capital management:creating value through people. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Krugman, P., Wells, R., & Graddy, K. (2010). Essentials of Economics. London: Worth Publishers. Mankiw, N. G. (2011). Principles of Economics (6th edition). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning. Mises, L. (2006). Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (3rd edition). Alabama: Bettina Bien Greaves. Riddell, C. (2007). Investing in Human Capital: Policy Priorities for Canada. In A Canadian Priorities Agenda: Policy Choices to Improve Economic and Social Well-Being . Read More