The Future of Human Capital: An Employment Relations Perspective

Abstract

Key features of the employment relationship need to be better incorporated into human capital theory and policy. Moreover, significant changes in the assumptions and practices embedded in employment systems will be required if human capital is to serve as an economy’s predominant source of competitive advantage. This chapter considers the assumptions that guided researchers and policymakers, among others, in the ‘industrial era’ and the institutions constructed to address three particular labor market/human resource-related issues - human capital formation and development, work-life integration and the role of women in the labor market, and the relationships between technology, technological change, and employment practices. It uses the US employment relations system as a case in point to illustrate how practices and assumptions that once enabled the employment relationship to ‘manage’ these three challenges must change in fundamental ways if the American economy is to gain competitive advantage from human capital in the future.

Keywords: Human Capital, Employment Relations, Employment Policy, Human Resource Management, Technological Change

JEL Classification: J18, J21, J53, J58