人力資本作為經濟增長的重要驅動力,存在于眾多經濟增長理論模型和實證研究當中,而學界對于人力資本的衡量方法和影響機制一直處于探索之中。一般來說,社會科學理論的進展與方法的改進相輔相成,理論指引著實證方法的使用和改進,方法的完善也應該能夠促進理論的推陳出新。本文梳理了人力資本對經濟增長貢獻相關的理論與實證研究,聚焦于人力資本的思想誕生、度量方法和經濟價值三方面,試圖從宏觀層面來分析不同時期人力資本要素在經濟增長過程當中所扮演角色的歷史演進及其內在邏輯,并討論人力資本理論與其實證方法論的關系。

Human capital as a critical engine for economic growth is present in many theoretical models and empirical researches of economic growth. However,their conclusions on its measurement method and impact mechanism remain inconclusive. Generally speaking,the progress of social science theory and the improvement of methods complement each other. The collision of the theory leads to the improvement of empirical methods. The test for methods is also conducive to the innovation of the theory. Therefore,this article provides the theoretical and empirical researches related to the contribution of human capital to economic growth. Literatures are reviewed from the birth of human capital theories,the measurement methods of human capital,and the economic value of human capital. We attempt to analyze the historical evolution of the role of human capital in the process of economic growth at different stages and its inherent nature and discuss the relationship between human capital theory and empirical methodology.