1. Understand how people learn (nurture, nature, education, training, informal learning).
2. Understand economic models related to lifelong learning.
3. Apply these economic models to questions of societal relevance (automation of work, ageing of the workforce).
4. Analyse empirical findings related to lifelong learning.
5. Evaluate empirical strategies to analyse the determinants and effects of lifelong learning.
6. Use economic models and empirical literature to solve questions related to the determinants and effects of lifelong learning.
Apart from these content-wise course objectives, in the course you also learn how to:
7. Read and understand empirical papers in economics.
8. Formulate research questions, write academic papers and present findings.
9. Provide productive feedback to peers.

In their production process, firms use capital (buildings, machines, technology, software, etcetera and labour (manpower) to manufacture goods or provide services to customers or other firms. This course focuses labour, more specifically human capital as a productive factor. The number of people who are engaged in paid employment, and the number of hours that they work determine the quantity of labour. People's abilities, educational level and their subsequent investments in human capital formation (e.g., off- and on-the-job training) determine the quality of labour. In the course, we seek to understand why both workers and firms invest in human capital.

To this end, we will:
* Increase your understanding of economic models related to formal education and lifelong learning.
* Apply these economic models to empirical questions of societal relevance such as the role of training in increasing productivity and the importance of learning in the wake of technological change.
* Analyse and evaluate empirical findings and strategies so that you will be able to solve questions related to the determinants and effects of lifelong learning.

We will make use of both theoretical and empirical papers in the field of labour economics.
Understanding, applying and evaluating economic models related to lifelong learning is necessary to understand the schooling decisions both students, workers and firms make. Such decisions are related to someone’s educational level and field, but also to training participation and informal learning of workers during their working life. HR managers, HR consultants and policy researchers are in need of such knowledge and skills in order to make the right schooling decisions, and react properly to societal, technological and organizational changes. This will enable them to keep the workforce's human capital up-to-date which is important for productivity and competition.

Various research papers from international journals