Over the last few decades, Western economies have over emphasized the role of education in relation to economic advancement. In this book, the authors argue that investing in human capital does not necessarily have positive impacts on the economy.
The authors of “The Global Auction: The Broken Promises of Education, Jobs, and Incomes” include Phillip Brown and David Ashton, both professors at Cardiff University.
The other author is Hugh Lauder an education professor at the University of Bath. These three social scientists challenge the conventional wisdom concerning the role of higher education in the current economies.
According to the book, there has been an unprecedented increase in the amount of university-trained workers in both developed and developing economies. In addition, the era when Western economies were the only ones providing value-added products is over.
The book adds that currently, most economies excessively reward the most talented workers while ignoring the contribution of the other workers. The society resulting from this phenomenon has previously been described as the “winner takes all society”.
The practice of focusing only on the top talent is emphasized by all global corporations. This practice has left the middle class workforce at a disadvantage. This is because most of those in middle class have to contend with diminishing career opportunities.
The authors refer to this as an “opportunity gap” that is caused by the upward transfer of rewards that were previously meant for the middle-class workforce. Therefore, everyone in the labor market is struggling to either acquire a decent position in the middle or attain the top-cream status.
The jostling for positions in the labor market has resulted in an economic crisis. This is because those who rely on employment-driven prosperity divert the economic progress. For instance, most people turn to easy credit when trying to deal with this challenge. In addition, the process has resulted in rising real estate costs.
Higher education is currently considered as the only accurate measure of human capital. Even leading global universities have joined the corporations in search of the “top cream” that can help boost these universities’ image. Currently, universities are ranked according to their ability to produce top-notch human capital.
The authors suggest that protectionism is not the best way of dealing with these problems. Instead, the society should revert to the idea of education being a quality-enhancing tool as opposed to it being an economic investment.
To achieve this, there is a need to deal with the increasing economic inequalities and uneven wealth distribution. The governments need to deal with this problem by encouraging innovation-led initiatives that lead to inward economic growth and increased skill-driven job opportunities.
Governments should also focus their attention on highlighting a smart approach to the utilization of skills. Companies should be pressured to change their policies regarding competition. The competition should be structured in a manner that benefits both the local communities and the employees.
It is also up to the respective governments to ensure that the negative aspects of capitalism are countered. For instance, companies’ reliance on cheap labor should be discouraged.
The book also champions the recognition of talent that is not directly involved in production of goods and services. For example, those involved in community improvement and childcare activities should be recognized.
The book does a good job by detailing the problems of this “opportunity trap”. However, the solutions they offer are neither persuasive nor detailed.
The authors neglect to mention that all university graduates leave school in the hope that they will all be absorbed by the job market. However, the authors’ analysis of capitalism is very helpful.