noun
human capital
HYOO-muhn KAP-i-tuhl
Human capital (noun) means the knowledge, skills, health and experience of the people in a workforce or a population, treated as an economic asset that produces value. Example: “Countries that invest in schooling build human capital that pays off for decades.”
noun
1
The knowledge, skills, health and experience of the people in a workforce or a population, treated as an economic asset that produces value.
"Countries that invest in schooling build human capital that pays off for decades."
"The merger was really a bid for the smaller firm's human capital."
2
business The employees of an organisation regarded collectively as a resource to be managed and developed.
"She heads the bank's human capital division."
"Human capital costs now exceed technology spending."
How to use human capital
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe value of what people know and can do.
When to use it
Formal; belongs to economics, policy and corporate writing rather than everyday speech.
Memory tip
Social capital is about relationships and trust between people; human capital is about the abilities inside each person.
Easily confused with
human resources
social capital
intellectual property
Common pairings
invest in human capital
human capital development
human capital flight
stock of human capital
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Countries that invest in schooling build _____ that pays off for decades.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for human capital
vital
digital
capital
recital
marital
orbital
genital
hospital
occipital
congenital
premarital
extramarital
See all rhymes for human capital →
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between human capital and human resources?
Human resources normally means the department and the practical business of hiring, paying and managing staff. Human capital is an economic idea: the value that people's skills and knowledge themselves represent.
How do you increase human capital?
Chiefly through education, training, work experience and better health care, since all of these raise what a person can produce. Migration policy also shifts a country's human capital by attracting or losing skilled workers.
Is calling people capital insulting?
Some people find it dehumanising, because it borrows the language of machinery and money. Economists use it to argue the opposite case, that spending on people is an investment rather than a cost.
What is the meaning of human capital?
"human capital" (noun) means the knowledge, skills, health and experience of the people in a workforce or a population, treated as an economic asset that produces value.
