Human capital inflation and unemployment

Abstract

Describes the fear of inflation which has frustrated European employment policies since the early 1970s. States that the concurrence of much unemployment with inflation did not elicit new ideas and that governments postulated that excessive spending, social security payments in particular, is the main cause of both: this legitimized severe restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, but expected results failed to appear. Finds that inflation did indeed abate but the increase in unemployment did not. Suggests that, because the services required for improving human capital are a prerequisite for economic progress, it follows that the state has to guarantee at least minimum conditions for ready access to services. For a calculating government, this is difficult to implement. That is why the dominating calculating principle in politics (a sort of monetarist bookkeeping attitude) undermines the economic performance of a country and threatens democracy. Yet the monetarist economic framework persists. Moreover, indicates the Maastricht Treaty actually establishes a legal and economic framework by which price stability takes precedence over growth, reduction of unemployment and social welfare considerations. Feels that a re‐examination of the true causes of inflation and unemployment has become imperative.

Citation

Spithoven, A.H.G.M. (1995), "Human capital inflation and unemployment", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068299510087895