Is human‐capital investment necessary to modernization? The effect of rural polytechnic training in dual agriculture

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the link between human‐capital investment and agricultural modernization in a dualistic agricultural economy. We assume that human‐capital investment in the context of agricultural dualism is distinct from that of simple traditional agriculture in that it gives top priority to developing the skills needed for production in the modern agricultural sector. Our aim is to investigate the likely consequences of investments and subsidies that provide polytechnic training to employees in the modern agricultural sector. To this end, we develop a three‐sector general equilibrium model with which one can evaluate the effect of rural polytechnic training. Our research indicates that sector investments and government subsidies raise the output of the traditional agricultural sector but conditionally raise the output of the modern agricultural sector. Moreover, sector investments and government subsidies each have greater effects on the development of the traditional sector than they would on that of the modern sector. These, nevertheless, are not conducive to the agricultural modernization.

Can Rural Human Capital Improve Agricultural Ecological Efficiency? Empirical Evidence from China

“…Specifically, EHC plays a significant role in promoting AEE. Education can improve farmers' application of technology and improve productivity, which is consistent with the research of M. Reimers, Wu Y., and others [51,52]. Through education and training, farmers have improved their production skills and awareness of environmental protection, thus improving the efficiency of input factors and reducing the use of polluting production factors such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which is conducive to improving AEE [22,26].…”

Educational (mis)match in the context of new manufacturing: A qualitative comparative analysis study in five European countries

“…Thus, on average, companies showing the highest match faced the most significant difficulties in recruiting craft/technician skills, followed by project management skills, people management and sales skills, and IT/software skills, whereas companies reporting educational mismatch were dealing mainly with a shortage of line management, leadership, and R&D technical skills. These results reinforce the importance of skilling, reskilling and upskilling (Autor, 2015) workers in collaboration with knowledge institutions (Lund & Karlsen, 2020;Wu & Li, 2020), to provide them with digitally aware skills' sets, as well as preparing them to undertake cognitive non-routine tasks more effectively, particularly interpersonal/interactive ones (Autor et al, 2003).…”

“…Hence, the development of ‘advanced skills’ (Hertle et al, 2015 p. 2) in production environments becomes a crucial prerequisite for future‐oriented production processes. Recent advances in (digital) technology have challenged the organisation and qualifications required in manufacturing industries and, consequently, the collaborations required with knowledge providers (Lund & Karlsen, 2020; Wu & Li, 2020). These challenges concern shop‐floor workers in particular, indispensable for the long‐term competitiveness of manufacturing firms (Barzotto & De Propris, 2019; Howaldt et al, 2017; Lund & Karlsen, 2020) but difficult to recruit in the labour market, hampering companies' innovation capabilities (Eurostat, 2013).…”

Maintenance Skill Training Gives Agricultural Socialized Service Providers More Advantages

“…According to the human capital theory, effective training can give full play to people's subjective initiative and promote the realization of goals [47]. When agricultural machinery operators attend maintenance skill training, they can master basic fault diagnosis methods for large-and middle-sized agricultural machinery, which not only improves the human capital of the agricultural labor force [48], but also enhances their confidence in the use of large-and middle-sized agricultural machinery and operation efficiency. On the one hand, if operators master basic maintenance skills, their consumption of large-and middle-sized agricultural machinery maintenance services is reduced, which decreases the operation and maintenance costs of large-and middle-sized agricultural machinery.…”