Schultz of poor economics

Schultz's most important contribution is to study the relationship between agriculture and economic growth, and the relationship between agricultural development and human capital investment, thus making a pioneering contribution in the field of agricultural economics. In Schultz's view, agricultural economics is the economics of the poor. Because most of the poor people in the world are concentrated in agriculture. Choosing his main viewpoints on agricultural economics can be summarized as three points: As early as 1950s, Schultz put forward the concept of human capital, emphasizing the basic role of human resources in agricultural development, so he was honored as the "father of the concept of human capital". When studying the agricultural problems in the United States and other developing countries, Schultz found that the improvement of human ability and technical level is an important source for the rapid improvement of modern agricultural productivity, because the area of land is always certain, and the role of land elements in agricultural development is gradually declining, but the role of human capital is becoming more and more important. The return rate of human capital investment is much higher than other investments. According to Schultz's research, in the economic growth of the United States for more than half a century, the input of material resources has increased by 4.5 times and the income has increased by 3.5 times. The investment in human capital has increased by 3.5 times, but the income has increased by 17.5 times. From 19 19 to 1957, 49% of GDP growth in the United States is the result of human capital investment. Schultz is the first scholar who systematically analyzes how education investment affects agricultural productivity and economic development. He believes that school education is very important in human capital investment. By developing school education and improving farmers' knowledge level, the cost of popularizing agricultural technology can be greatly reduced, agricultural productivity can be improved, and it is more conducive to the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture.

Schultz's thought of "poor economics" reflects some realities in underdeveloped countries to some extent, and also reveals some laws of agricultural development in the process of economic development. Therefore, it is of reference significance for developing countries to handle the relationship between industrial and agricultural development and urban and rural development in the process of industrialization.