Chapter 8 quizz, Human capital

According to the chapter, what is the concept of "human capital" most closely related to?

• Physical infrastructure like roads and bridges

• The education, health, and skills of a population

• Natural resources such as forests and minerals

• The stock market and financial assets

Economists consider investments in education, health care, and nutrition as:

• Consumption expenditures that do not affect future growth

• Activities that decrease national productivity

• Investments that increase human capital

• Luxury expenses affordable only to rich nations

The chapter emphasizes that human development is a cumulative process. This means that:

• Skills and health achieved in adulthood have no relation to early life stages

• Every stage of a person's life builds on the outcomes of earlier stages

• Only late adolescence determines future productivity

• Investments in early childhood can be fully replaced by interventions later in life

Which period of life does the chapter highlight as extraordinarily important for brain development?

• Late adolescence (age 16-18)

• Early childhood (0-5 years)

• Middle adulthood (30-40 years)

• Old age (65+)

Why is early childhood considered such a critical period for future economic productivity?

• Because only during adolescence do children learn job skills

• Because the formation of the brain and essential social, emotional, and cognitive skills occur very early

• Because older children can't learn anything new

• Because primary schooling only accepts children with early training

The "life cycle approach" to human development suggests that:

• Only early interventions matter

• Each stage of a person's development is independent of others

• Investments at each stage influence outcomes at subsequent stages

• Human development ends once a person starts working

What is "epigenetics," as mentioned in the chapter?

• A process by which wealth can be inherited

• The influence of environmental factors on the expression of genes across generations

• A theory that only genes, not environment, affect development

• A medical intervention to prevent malnutrition

Achieving universal primary education has been a central goal in global development as embodied in:

• Millennium Development Goal 2 (MDG 2)

• Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG 7)

• Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13)

• No global initiatives have focused on primary education

The chapter states that while primary education enrollments have risen above 100 percent in gross terms, this can happen because:

• Countries often misreport data

• Some older children are enrolled in primary school, raising the overall ratio

• Primary education now includes university courses

• Over-enrollment is a statistical error

In recent decades, the gender gap in primary school enrollment:

• Has widened dramatically worldwide

• Has nearly closed, with girls catching up to boys

• Remains unchanged from the 1970s

• Has reversed, with girls now far surpassing boys