Human capital is a crucial element for industrialization. The post-industrial
world relies heavily on knowledge as a vital part of economic growth. The supply of
highly skilled workers trained through higher education is of increasing importance to
the development of a nation’s economy. A university education not only provides
significant economic and non-monetary private benefits to students, it contributes
substantial social and public benefits to society and future generations. However, critics
argue that as decades of increasing access to higher education have not resulted in
higher economic gains, the benefit of higher education could be in “signalling”.
Therefore, the critical question is whether the increasing social costs of higher
education have produced a corresponding increase in social benefits. There is an
ongoing debate among educational economists between the “signalling” effects versus
the “developmental” effects of university education.
Keywords: Cultural Competence, International Diversity, Unified Growth
Theories, Wage Premium.
