Description: This study recommends employing "human capital contracts" wherein students agree to pay a percentage of their income over time in exchange for funds to finance their education. The main difference between "human capital contracts" and loans is the variable value of the payments students make during the repayment period. Their financial consequences, of risk transfer from students to investors and increased information regarding future graduates' earnings, make the contracts an attractive alternative in funding higher education.
Brief description: Miguel Palacios Lleras is a Fellow at the Batten Institute, Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. He is the author of numerous papers on financing human capital and is co-founder of Lumni, a company that manages human capital funds.
Review Quotes: 'Miguel Palacios Lleras has written the authoritative work on the revolution that is underway to integrate human capital into our financial system. The book makes the dimensions of this revolution clear, and provides real impetus and inspiration to propel it to the next level in the future. The results for our society and our lives will be profound.' Robert J. Schiller, Yale University, and author of The New Financial Order and Irrational Exuberance