The first in a series of books published with the IZA, this book presents and analyzes the work of one of the most important economists of the 20th century--Jacob Mincer. Mincer's work has had a lasting influence on contemporary labor economics in both theoretical and methodological terms. Mincer played a central role in shaping contemporary labor economics, not the least by largely determining its research agenda. His work in the 1960s and 70s on the determinants of individual earnings, notably human capital, and on labor force supply, particularly female participation, have had an enormous impact on the way others have approached labor economics. This book presents a systematic analysis of his extensive published work, emphasising its continuity as a lifetime research program that has made a lasting influence on modern labor economics.

Pedro N. Teixeira is Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Porto and Senior Researcher at CIPES - Portuguese National Research Centre on Higher Education Policy and CEMPRE - Research Centre on Macroeconomics and Forecasting (Department of Economics - University of Porto). He is also affiliated with IZA and with PROPHE - Program of Research on Private Higher Education. He completed his PhD in Economics in 2003 (University of Exeter) and has also earned a Masters in the Economics of Higher Education at CHEPS (University of Twente, The Netherlands) and a BA in Economics from the University of Porto (Portugal).

• 1: Introduction: A Brief Portrait of Jacob Mincer


• 2: The Changing Role of Education in Economic Analysis


• 3: Placing Human Capital at the Center of Income Distribution


• 4: Appraising the Impact of the Human Capital Research Program


• 5: Human Capital and the Long-term View of the Labor Market


• 6: Human Capital and Labor Market Dynamics


• 7: The Influence of Jacob Mincer on Modern Labor Economics


• 8: The Human Capital Labor Economist