The impact of investments in education on labour market in the knowledge-based economy

In the terms of globalization, economic growth is clearly associated with the growth of human capital importance. Investments in education increase the total income (G. Becker, M. Friedman). Revenue from investments into human capital, i.e. wages, pensions and wealth is now higher than returns from other area investments. Human capital has in contrast to the physical capital a specific character. Its holder is a man who is unique in such a way that he possesses certain skills, which are learned mainly during the process of education and practical experience. Human capital is a learning process of education for all types of school cultivated by endowment and talent; it is also supported by personal characteristics of human beings such as persistence, single-mindedness, communicativeness and it is completed by the way of behaviour, dressing and overall appearance of a man. Chicago school understands the process of learning as the process of investment in human skills and applies here a general knowledge for the investment process. By them, education is not understood as a process of consumption, as well as the money spent on it is not seen as consumer expenditures, i.e. reducing the rate of savings. Conversely, education is understood as a human capital, and cash expenditures on education are seen as capital expenditures. Theory of investment into human capital also looks at the comparison of inequality in wages on the basis in differences in talent, heritage, and family background or by effects of other factors. Further aspect of wage inequality that is explained by the theory of human capital is the "gender gap" in wages. The aim of this paper is to identify problems related to the education process, and to create the conditions for the formation of human capital and its impact on the functioning of the labour market in the knowledge-based economy in Slovakia, as well as in the wider European market space. Investment in education, as a part of human capital, is currently viewed as one of the most important tools for increasing the competitiveness of an economy. It increases the flexibility and professional mobility of labour force, it contributes to the growth in labour productivity, and it allows the labour force to adjust the fluctuations of the economic cycle and so moderate the social problems. Well educated man, who holds a high human capital, is willing to use existing opportunities to acquire new knowledge. He is also able to change his working grade, which gives him certain independence on his particular job. On the other hand, there appear some contradictions associated with the formation of the labour market in the era of globalization. One of them is the increasing migration of labour force from less developed countries to rich countries. There is also a gradual growth of over education of the labour force, which is manifested by the fact that labour does not use its education in working process.