Theodore Schultz
American economist who emphasized education's role in agricultural productivity.
Most quoted
"Most of the people of the world are poor, so if we knew the economics of being poor, we would know much of the economics that really matters."
— from Nobel Lecture, 1979
"The formation of human capital has been the most distinctive feature of the human and economic history of the twentieth century."
— from Nobel Lecture, 1979
"The value of human capital is not just in its productive capacity, but also in its ability to adapt to change."
— from The Value of the Ability to Deal with Disequilibria, 1975
All quotes by Theodore Schultz (101)
Traditional agriculture must transform or perish.
Human capital is the engine of progress.
The cost of ignorance is higher than any tuition.
In economics, people are not costs; they are assets.
Development begins with the individual.
The greatest inequality is unequal access to education.
Famines are man-made, not nature's fault.
Knowledge is the ultimate capital.
Rural poverty persists because we undervalue rural minds.
Economic theory must account for human behavior.
The Nobel Prize honors not just me, but the idea of human capital.
Life's true wealth is in learning.
Agriculture's future lies in innovation, not tradition.
Human resources are renewable if nurtured properly.
The poor are not lazy; they lack opportunities.
Economics is about people, not just numbers.
Invest in health as much as in machines.
The tragedy of undereducation is irreversible.
Global hunger stems from policy failures, not scarcity.
A nation's strength is its educated populace.
Contemporaries of Theodore Schultz
Other Economicss born within 50 years of Theodore Schultz (1902–1998).