Human Capital, Upgrading The Industrial Structure In China

From the 60's of the 20^th century when S. W. Shultz posed the theory of human capital to explain the secret of the modern economic growth, economists have made profound and extensive study focusing on the relationship between human capital and economic growth. The theory of new-economic growth springing up in the mid 80's of the 20th century brings human capital into economic growth model as an independent factor, and puts forward a standpoint that it is the source or driving force of economic growth, which greatly helps people understand the functions of human capital in economic growth. However, the previously made research emphasizes particularly on the functions of human capital from an angle of economic gross increase and is short of analysis on the relationship between human capital and industrial structure. Owing to that economic growth is not only represented in gross, but also manifested in the evolution and upgrading of industrial structure, it is not enough to study merely the relationship between human capital and economic gross increase, but should probe into the relationship between human capital and the upgrading of industrial structure in the course of study. On the other hand, the current problems existing in economic circulation in our country are caused by low levels of industrial structure. Therefore, it is very important to quicken the upgrading of industrial structure in order to solve various contradictions in economic circulation. China is a developing country with big population. It is short in average natural resources and capital, and it has been lagged behind in technology, but is abundant in labor resources. Under such a condition, it should dominate human capital to promote the upgrading of industrial structure, and transform the advantage of rich labor resources into human capital advantage. Yet, under the present situation, can the human capital in our country meet the need of the upgrading of industrial structure? What measures should we take to form the human capital and fully exert its functions in our country? These are questions that are worth our considering. The two aspects mentioned above form the theoretical background and realistic reasons for this essay to study human capital from an angle of industrial structure upgrading.Under the guidance of Marxist Materialism Dialectic, the essay makes an integrated use of theories concerning political economics, industrial economics and educational economics, and employs such methods as comparative analysis, institutional analysis, qualitative analysis together with qualitative analysis, and the combination of positive analysis and valuable analysis to make a comprehensive and deep study of human capital problems in China's upgrading of industrial structure. The paper discusses along a logic line of"Theories-Actualities-Countermeasures". On the basis of addressing the functions of human capital in the upgrading of industrial structure and its needed institutional conditions, the paper analyzes the strategic choices of China's industrial structure upgrading and problems of human capital existing in the upgrading of industrial structure in China, and analyzes the principles and ways to the upgrading of industrial structure, and proposes suggestions for human capital policies in promoting the upgrading finally. The main content and major viewpoints are as follows:Chapter One is a ready for research. It briefly analyzes the meaning, characteristics and types of human capital, discusses the concept of the upgrading of industrial structure, its influencing factors and rules of evolution. It establishes a knowledge base for the following chapters.Chapter Two analyzes theoretically the vital functions of human capital in the upgrading of industrial structure and the institutional conditions that affect human capital to exert its function, which establishes a theoretical foundation for the coming chapters. The paper argues that the functions of human capital in the upgrading of industrial structure are mainly embodied in the driving effect of specialized and entrepreneur's human capital. The functions of specialized human capital is represented through productive action and exhibited as a media of technological progress, and the functions of entrepreneur's human capital is manifested by the entrepreneurs'abilities to innovate, to organize and manage, and to allocate resources. The paper figures that the exertion of human capital functions has something to do with a series of institutional arrangements that are in accordance with industrial structure upgrading, such as institution of human capital's property rights, institution of production and allocation, institution of income distribution of human capital. Finally, the paper takes the knowledge economy development of the United States as an example to demonstrate the pushing effect of human capital in the upgrading of industrial structure.Chapter Three addresses the necessity of China's industrial structure upgrading from three aspects which are continuous growth of national economy, change of mode of economic growth and improvement of international competitiveness of industries. It shows the hardship of China's industrial structure upgrading in our country by analyzing the multi-goals of the upgrading and the great pressure of employment. By analysis, the paper considers that human capital should be put at the leading place to boost the upgrading of industrial structure in our country, because dominating human capital is not only necessary to exert comparative advantage and advantage of backwardness, but also necessary to reduce the income distance, accelerate social equity and expedite urbanization. Chapter Four analyzes the problems and the causes of human capital existing in the course of hoisting the upgrading of industrial structure. The paper points out that the human capital in our country is difficult to meet the need of the upgrading of industrial structure ,as is embodied in the unreasonable level and structure of human capital, unbalanced distribution in industry and low efficiency in utilization of human capital. The paper argues that the reasons causing the above-mentioned problems originates from many aspects, the important ones of which are unreasonable educational institution, segmentation of labor market, unjust institution of income distribution and the conventional idea of"government official first". These factors affect and restrict one another.Chapter Five poses human capital policy suggestions for quickening the promotion of our country's industrial structure upgrading on the basis of addressing the principles and approaches to the upgrading of our country's industrial structure. The paper insists that the upgrading of industrial structure should neither unilaterally emphasize the development of high-tech industries while neglect labor-intensive industries for the purpose of keeping ahead, nor adhere to the fore-advanced labor-intensive industries and await the conditions to develop high-tech industries which emphasize comparative advantage unilaterally, but should be established in the current human capital actualities, stick to the principles of uniting comparative advantage and advantage of backwardness, pay attention to labor-intensive as well as high-tech industries. Meanwhile, we should catch favorable opportunities of the international industrial transformation to speed up our country's industrial structure upgrading. The paper indicates that we must deepen the reform of the institution concerning human capital, and establish human capital accumulation mechanism, allocation mechanism, income distribution mechanism needed by the upgrading of industrial structure, and make informal institution arrangements that accord with the mechanism in order to make the human capital's gross and structure satisfy the need of industrial structure upgrading in our country.