1of19 - Human Capital and Intergeneration Mobility - Introduction

GARY BECKER This the first lecture in the “Lectures on Human Capital“ series by Gary Becker. This series of lectures recorded during the Spring of 2010 are from ECON 343 - Human Capital, a class taught every year by Gary Becker at the University of Chicago. In this class, Becker expounds upon the theory of Human Capital that he helped create and for which he won the Nobel Prize. Please see attached lecture notes, video annotations, and reading list for more information. --- Professor Becker introduces the course objectives and discusses the main themes covered in his class. The main course subjects covered in the study of Human Capital are: investments in education in an altruistic model, trade-offs between human capital and physical capital investments, intergenerational income mobility, investments in health, marriage markets, fertility, on the job training, specialization and the division of labor, and the division of labor and the extent of the economy. He defines hu