Economics of Being Poor

Nobel Laureate Theodore W. Schultz has made important contributions to the fields of agriculture and natural resource economics, and to human capital theory. This is the first of two volumes which will encompass and combine the passions and interests of this eminent economist. "The Economics of Being Poor" is mainly devoted to the economics of acquiring skills and knowledge, to investment in the quality of the population and to the increasing economic importance of human capital - the quality of the work force embodied in the health, education and skills, including the entrepreneurial skills, of the workers themselves. The volume is divided into three parts: "Most People are Poor", "Investing in Skills and Knowledge" and "Effects of Human Capital". Although most of the material is previously published, many of the articles are now unavailable or in limited circulation journals. The author has provided linking passages between the articles to form a coherent volume. The book should be of interest to students, academics and researchers working in the fields of development economics, welfare economics, agricultural economics, economic policy and the history of economic thought; it should also be of interest to social geographers, social scientists and demographers.