Rentabilidad de la inversión en capital humano en México

This investigation studies the impact on wage income of larger investment levels in human capital in Mexico. Its purpose is to evaluate the economic incentives that an agent has to make a larger investment. Following the theory on human capital, an individual, when deciding whether to continue with higher studies, ponders the expected benefits in terms of getting higher wages against the financial and opportunity costs of taking such action. A cost-benefit analysis reveals the relative attractiveness of the investment in human capital with respect to other investments. Previous studies in Mexico (Carnoy, 1967, and Zamudio and Bracho, 1992, 1993a and 1993b) estimate the income return of different education degrees; however, they do not consider the opportunity and monetary costs of obtaining additional degrees. This investigation estimates the internal rate of return of the investment in human capital incorporating the opportunity cost of pursuing higher education degrees. This cost is measured in terms of the wages not received during the years of study. Thus, the internal rate of return is much lower than the estimates coming studies that follow the original Mincer (1974) methodology. The investigation also works with both conclusive and inconclusive education degrees.