No abstract

According to human capital theory the higher education is considered as an investment decision. In order to be beneficial from economic point of view and in comparison with other investment opportunities, investment in education should give a higher rate of return on investment. Knowledge about the return on investment can help to make competent decisions, which would have an economic benefit in the future. Evaluating the investment in human capital (education) as an individual decision, since the vast majority of individuals for gained education should pay themselves and only a part of the price shall be covered by the state, the rate of return on investment becomes an increasingly important evaluation criterion. Making an investment decision it is very important to allocate resources properly. For the individual the costs of this investment include poor wages and direct costs. It can be assumed that individuals with higher education will be paid more than the others without education. Thus, the investment in higher education (human capital) is useful as long as there is a positive difference between marginal benefit and marginal costs. Higher education is a guarantee of a higher life quality. But, in order to ensure the higher life quality, such main factors as individual skills and labour productivity should be eximined. Investment in human and physical capital doesn't only promote the growth of labour market. The investment such as lower inflation rates and freer trade (lower limits) also stimulates the economic growth. The ability to absorb easily technological change increases labour productivity and efficiency. Education, lifelong learning and health are very important investment in human capital. The foreign scientists performed researches and proved that income growth of individuals depends on the level or degree of education the individual has gained. Rate of return on investment in human capital is positive even after direct and indirect costs estimation. The individuals with higher education have higher incomes in comparison with individuals with college education. Education is one of the most important development factors of the modern knowledge based economy. However, educational and scientific development requires the long-term and huge investment. This investment also should be assessed from the social aspect. On the one hand investment in human capital should be stimulated; on the other aspect it should assess their effectiveness. As the investment in human capital is a complex problem from both practical and scientific aspect, so the practice of such evaluation and applied methods do not give an unambiguous answer. It is very important to evaluate the effectiveness of this investment, to estimate the detention of the time, the money flows: incomes (revenues) and outcomes (expenditures).Keywords: human capital, investment in human capital, rate of return on investment, internal rate of return (IRR), shortperiod return on revenue.

No abstract

Various socio-economic systems (countries, regions, or cities) and their economies suffer different kinds of economic shocks. If the system is not resilient, its economy can incur losses. Only the systems whose economies are less vulnerable and/or are able to recover from the economic shock quite quickly are able to ensure economic sustainability, competitiveness, and welfare both now and in the future. The concepts of socio-economic systems’ resilience to economic shocks, vulnerability, and recovery, as well as the resilience assessment peculiarities, are all analyzed in this article. The methodology introduced for the assessment of a socio-economic system’s resilience to economic shocks consists of two parts: a model of a system’s resilience to the economic shock’s capacity-related factors (Resilio) and an index of a socio-economic system’s resilience to the economic shocks (Resindicis). The Resilio model could be used as a universal methodological framework for analyzing the resilience of socio-economic systems of different levels (countries, regions, or cities). The set of quantitative indicators compiling Resindicis should be adjusted to the specifics of each socio-economic system and the availability of statistical data. Empirically, the methodology was validated on the example of 10 Lithuanian regions (counties). The methodological principles for the assessment of a socio-economic system’s resilience are also provided. The main advantages and drawbacks of the methodology are discussed in order for further development and an increase in its practical application.

The article deals with the analysis of the theoretical and practical aspects of measuring regional resilience to economic shocks. While the concept of regional resilience to economic shocks is still at the development stage, and the method of measuring regional resilience, which is grounded methodologically and is generally accepted, is still missing, the article presents a unique approach of the authors to the concept of regional resilience to economic shocks including the elaboration of the definition of regional resilience to economic shocks, the description of the capabilities to determine the regional resilience in the Resilio model, the specification of their quantitative and qualitative characteristics, and the introduction of the index of the resilience of regions to economic shocks (Resindicis). The rapid development of the globalization processes poses new challenges to the instruments of economic analysis and strategic planning. Different techniques can be used for obtaining the required information on building the regional resilience-enhancing strategies. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. In order to find out the strengths and the weaknesses of measuring resilience by Resilio, the newly developed index was empirically tested with regard to the data of 10 Lithuanian districts in the period of 2006-2015. The assessment results, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using the Resilio model are presented in this article. The newly developed Resindicis, introduced in the article, represents an objective for having a convenient tool which could be used for economic analysis, strategic planning and justification of solutions aimed at enhancing regional resilience.