PhD student papers

The option value of education

Published:
2010-06-14
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T. Kiss, J. (2010). The option value of education. Competitio, 9(1), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.21845/comp/2010/1/7
Abstract

Within the theoretical frameworks of standard human capital theory countless analyses have been carried out into investment decisions, in which the examination of the uncertainty of the costs and benefits of education were mostly disregarded and an assessment of the option opportunities was often omitted. In this essay we tried to review one of the extension opportunities of the theory of standard human capital and the option approach of human capital investment. We looked for an answer to the question of what kind of models have been developed for the interpretation of education as an option and for the determination of the option value of the investment. In the study we have highlighted the fact that a decrease in uncertainty in human capital investment is as good an incentive for investing in more education as the public subsidization of education.

JEL classification: C6, D8, I2, J2

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