Page "Human capital" Paragraph 42

Following Becker, the human capital literature often distinguishes between " specific " and " general " human capital.

Specific human capital refers to skills or knowledge that is useful only to a single employer or industry, whereas general human capital ( such as literacy ) is useful to all employers.

Economists view firm specific human capital as risky, since firm closure or industry decline lead to skills that cannot be transferred ( the evidence on the quantitative importance of firm specific capital is unresolved ).