4 March 2008
Social Bridges II – The importance of human capital for growth and social inclusion
This joint paper by the Finance Ministries of Sweden and Germany and the Treasury is a joint vision for shaping an inclusive globalisation through human capital.
The first Social Bridges paper, written jointly by the Swedish Finance Ministry and the Treasury, described a socially inclusive response to globalisation that combines modern economic and social policies to deliver sustainable economic growth and social inclusion. These policies need not be in conflict, as some may suggest, but can be mutually reinforcing providing flexibility and fairness together.
This paper builds on that approach and focuses specifically on the issue of human capital for promoting employability and social cohesion. The knowledge-based economy favours labour market entrants and workers with higher skills, while technological and structural change may require new and different types of skills, which will need to be updated throughout the lifecycle. Human capital formation is therefore crucial – to promote opportunity and employability of workers, and to increase the innovative capacity of companies and economies. Demographic change makes a culture of lifelong learning even more important. Education alone, however, is not enough. It has to be complemented by policies to remove barriers to labour market participation, and set in the context of well-functioning labour, product and capital markets and macroeconomic stability that together allow for high levels of job creation and international competitiveness.
This paper identifies some common features of successful policies and draws on examples of modern policy design and development from across Europe so we can begin to learn together and from each other to equip our citizens with the necessary skills to make the most of the opportunities in the global age. In this way security is provided as people can manage and take advantage of change, without protecting specific jobs.
The document is available in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer you can download the software free of charge from the Adobe website. For alternative ways to read PDF documents and further information on website accessibility visit the HM Treasury accessibility page.
- Social Bridges II – The importance of human capital for growth and social inclusion (PDF file, 480KB)