Does Change in S & T Explain Dynamics in Human Capital? An enquiry into Emerging Trends in Nursing Labour Market
Published By: IASSI and Knowledge Forum on eSS, Mumbai | Published Date: October, 27 , 2010We examine why it is important to consider seemingly autonomous but more
embedded socio-political-economic aspects in assessing the impact of changes in
Science and Technology (S&T) on human capital. In capturing the linkage between
S&T and human capital, as we show, the dynamics in labour market is enmeshed in
the complex web of socio-political-economic systems. Perhaps, this mode of reasoning
has varying effects depending on the nature of economic activity. While the effect of
entanglement of socio-political-economic aspects on S&T-human capital linkage may
have less dynamism for primary economic activities, this effect is quite apparent for
secondary and tertiary activities, quite reflected in consequences such as migration of
labour. Interestingly, we investigate this dynamics taking nursing labour market as a
case, viewing its significance in the emerging health care systems. A significant
change in S&T of health care is that it has become more diagnostic than heuristic
based system, mainly driven by advancements in the bio-medical technology. This
change has altered the scope of health care occupations, covering occupations such as
physicians, nurses, and para-medical professionals. Of these, nursing as an occupation reports one of the highest rates of women participation. After 2000, the
migration of nursing professionals from some of the least developed/developing
countries to developed countries has shown a steady increase. This surge in migration
may have its roots in changes in S&T of health care systems. However, this link
remains incomplete if we exclude a host of factors, primarily state’s role in health care,
changes in health care education, new institutions in human capital formation, wage
dynamics, and an increasingly socially embedded labour market. In this paper, we
examine these themes –perspectives and substantive issues- , using the literature and
secondary and primary data.
Author(s): Bino Paul G.D, Krishna Krishna M, Saritha C T Saritha C.T. | Posted on: Oct 29, 2010 | Views(1342) | Download (828)