Человеческий капитал как фактор европейской экономической интеграции Республики Беларусь

Abstract

The article reveals the essence of the economic category "human capital" and its role in global integration processes. Human capital is defined as an inherent factor. According to the author it is formed as a result of investment and can be regarded as a certain accumulated level of health, education, skills, talents, motivation, energy and cultural development both of individuals and the society which are well-managed in any sphere of social reproduction, contribute to the economic growth and affect the personal income. Human capital is an aggregate of the constituting elements. The main ones are biological and cultural human capital. Biological human capital consists of two parts: one is inherited, the other is acquired. Individual cultural capital can be characterized by intellectual, educational, moral and social capital. The capital reproduction can be realized by investing in the sphere where it is either the object, or the subject or the result of influence. The structure of investments into human capital includes education, in-service training, health care, motivation, infonnation search and migration, fundamental scientific developments, ecology and lifestyle, culture and leisure. Human capital development index, involving the majority of the elements of human capital, gives quite an accurate picture of the aggregate of human capital accumulated by a state. The article cites these elements, indices on each of the aspects and the development indices figures for the European states ranked according to their human capital. The author also makes a comparative analysis of the Republic of Belarus position against these European states. The analysis shows that a rather high level of cumulative human capital of the Republic of Belarus is one of the basic factors for the country's integration into the European economic community.