Publish at April 10 2024 Updated April 10 2024
While the accumulation of capital has long been the golden rule for some growth theorists, such as Smith and Ricardo, Gary Becker in the 1950s placed human capital at the heart of this sector of activity. In fact, he founded the concept that would later become a theory, that of "human capital", which stipulates that the education and training of people is a factor of growth.
In addition, the more time men spend training, the more they are destined to earn. Except that, in a world of perpetual change, where professions rapidly fall into disuse and others are born, reflecting the complexity of the labor market, is long training a guarantee of good pay and economic growth for developing countries? In the following paragraphs, we set out to answer this question.
According to the theory of human capital, the more you learn, the more you aspire to a salary commensurate with the skills and knowledge accumulated throughout your studies, which can be considered as savings. In reality, however, this idea cannot be taken as a general truth, as an employee's remuneration cannot be based solely on his or her level of education. It also depends on whether the training is basic or specialized.
Indeed, according to a survey conducted in 2010 by CEREQ (Centre d'études et de recherche sur les qualifications), students with a Bachelor's degree in Letters, Arts, Human and Social Sciences (LASH) (Bac+3) earn less than those with a BTS and DUT (Bac+2), with a median salary of 1,100 euros versus 1,225 euros respectively. The survey does not stop there. It also reveals that a LASH master's degree functions like a bachelor's degree.
In this respect, we can point to a number of paradoxes relating to human capital theory, given that, according to the above survey, there is an illusion surrounding the protective diploma, which is supposed to ensure remuneration commensurate with the skills acquired, but above all with the number of years spent on the school benches, which presume knowledge to its holder.
It's one thing to have a diploma, but it's quite another to have the skills needed to perform a job. In fact, while a diploma certifies knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills, it does not provide any more information about the actual skills an individual may have, since this knowledge is assessed in a work situation. As a result, the mason can only be recognized at the foot of the wall.
The real acquisition of skills in school systems where theory is the watchword, as is the case in Cameroon, can only be based on experience acquired in the field. Spending several years in school is admirable, but you need to know how to learn in practice.
To be more competitive on the job market, the combination of theory and practice is the best equation to perform; given that remuneration also varies according to professional experience. In fact, as Yves Michel points out in his article "Se former, certes..., mais comment?", which we believe is a reframing of the foundations of human capital theory.
A young person's position in the job classification, and consequently his or her salary level, is essentially determined by his or her diploma. Increasingly, however, a minimum level of professional experience is required to secure a permanent employment contract. Secondly, progression up the career ladder, and therefore pay, depends on professional experience, i.e. skills acquired on the job.
As we can see, a diploma is certainly an asset for a well-paid job, but professional experience is not only an indicator of mastery of knowledge, but also a measure of classification.
Having an educated population is an invaluable advantage for a nation. But in developing countries where the brain drain is a reality, the state does not always seem to be the preferred beneficiary of its human capital. So how do we explain this phenomenon?
There are many reasons for the brain drain. However, when it comes to developing countries, emigrants seem to be looking for a better quality of life, which some of them would probably find in developed countries.
Indeed, in a country like Cameroon, where there is little match between training and employment - so that at the end of training graduates find themselves with skills that will not be useful on the job market - they are forced to expatriate to develop professionally. As a result, their expatriation results in major losses in terms of economic growth, since education is an investment whose main objective is to increase the capital available for a country's development.
We can see that training is necessary for the development of human capital, but it is also necessary to create the right conditions for the workforce to flourish, and thus generate a return on investment.
References
Bocquier Philippe, "L'importance relative de la fuite des cerveaux : la place de l'Afrique sub-saharienne dans le monde", IRD éditions, online https://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/2626?lang=fr
Dabo Joseph Doubla, Abessolo Yves André, 2022, "Inadéquations Éducatives et Transition Vers le Marché du Travail au Cameroun", Global Journal of human-social sciences; Linguistics and Education, online
https://globaljournals.org/GJHSS_Volume22/3-Inadequations-Educatives.pdf
Maingari Daouda, 2011, "Exode des cerveaux en Afrique : réalités et déconstruction du discours sur un phénomène social", in Éducation et Sociétés, vol 2 (n° 28), pages 131-147
Michel Yves, 1997, "Se former, certes..., mais comment", Revue internationale d'éducation de Sèvres, p. 61 - http://journals.openedition.org/ries/3034
Ralle Pierre, "Croissance, formation et accumulation du capital humain", p. 203-219, online
https://books.openedition.org/editionscnrs/31391?lang=fr
Vignolles Benjamin, 2012, "Le capital humain : du concept aux théories", in Regards croisés sur l'économie, vol.2, n° 12, pages 37-41, online
https://www.cairn.info/revue-regards-croises-sur-l-economie-2012-2-page-37.htm
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