Schools brief | Six big ideas

Gary Becker’s concept of human capital

Becker made people the central focus of economics. The second in our series on big economic ideas

WHY do families in rich countries have fewer children? Why do companies in poor countries often provide meals for their workers? Why has each new generation spent more time in school than the one that came before? Why have earnings of highly skilled workers risen even as their numbers have also increased? Why should universities charge tuition fees?

This article appeared in the Schools brief section of the print edition under the headline “The people’s champion”

How to avoid nuclear war with North Korea

From the August 5th 2017 edition

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