Capital humano, oportunidades de trabalho e incentivos públicos: motivações e decisões da família quanto ao investimento em ensino superior

• Ano de defesa: 2011
• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Joelma Castro
• Orientador(a): Bartolomeu, Tereza Angélica
• Banca de defesa: Silva, Neuza Maria da , Deus, Maria Alba Pereira de
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Viçosa
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Mestrado em Economia Doméstica
• Departamento: Economia familiar; Estudo da família; Teoria econômica e Educação do consumidor
• País: BR
• Palavras-chave em Português: Capital humano; Família; Incentivos públicos
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Human capital; Family; Public incentives
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CNPQ::CIENCIAS SOCIAIS APLICADAS::ECONOMIA DOMESTICA
• Link de acesso: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/3335

The research presented in this dissertation consisted of a study with theoretical basis in the human capital theory, whereby the higher the educational level of an individual, the higher will be his or her salary. However, in Brazil, where a significant part of the population is classified as poor, there are less public assets for investment in human capital, making the savings of households to become the largest source of investment in education, especially when related to higher education. Thus, we tried to analyze the issue of investment in higher education, considering the current situation of Brazilian youth, considering that the more attractive the working alternatives for individuals in studying age, the less attractive will be the studies and less investment they will make in education. The survey was conducted in Córrego Fundo-MG, which has its economy based on activities of mining and processing of lime (limestone), where it was analyzed the decision making process of families in the city, regarding the investment in human capital, considering the local public policies to encourage investment in higher education. This is an exploratory-descriptive research, quantitative and qualitative, with longitudinal approach, which started from the analysis of documents provided by the Municipal Education department and by the Academic Center of Formiga - UNIFOR-MG, related to the years from 1995 to 2009. Besides the document analysis, questionnaires were applied, to young people who had enrolled and not enrolled in higher education within the time limited for the study. The questionnaires aimed to examine the socio-cultural and economic context where the participants were inserted, and the academic situation of those who enrolled in higher education. The sample was selected based on the number of new enrollments in each year for young people who entered higher education. For the young people who did not enter high school, the sample was calculated to be compatible with the number of enrollments, since it was made a comparative analysis. We attempted to analyze the decision making process of households in the city, considering two distinct periods: before and after the existence of the benefit from the city government. The results indicate the existence of two types of benefits: one subsidized by the city - Municipal Law 479/2010 - and another by the educational institution the Amigos do Bairro project. It was found that from the offer of benefits, there was a 700% increase in the number of youths from Córrego Fundo enrolled in higher education. It was also found, from the answers to the questionnaires, that the majority of young people who enrolled in higher education would not be able to do it without the existence of the benefits, due to restrictions on family incomes. It was found that more than 80% of the research participants had to work and study at the same time, and these people declared that the work was a necessity, and there were no conditions of specific dedication to study. It was still observed that, among young people who attended college, there were more people employed and with employment status legalized. It was found that the activities that characterize the city, which are extraction and processing of lime, absorb a greater proportion of young people who have not entered higher education, and among these ones, most of them did not continue the studies due to lack of financial resources. It was noted, finally, that the young participants, mostly considered higher education as an opportunity to ascend cultural and socially, even among those ones who did not enroll in higher education, most of them valorized the studies and considered that higher levels of education could have allowed them a better quality of life.