The Pandemic Effects on Human Capital Development: An Introduction

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant risks to human capital development worldwide. This chapter provides an overview on the effects of the pandemic on two critical sectors: In the health care sector, the human and economic costs were enormous. This included the death of over seven million people, the infection of over 704 million worldwide, the exposure of medical staff and social workers to the risk of being infected and working longer hours, and significant rise in public health expenditures. The widespread of disease causes huge disruption in the medical field, with shortage in medical equipment and services, all of them impacted negatively on labor productivity and well-being. Meanwhile, the education system was not immune from the pandemic, but it also experienced disruptive effects on students, teachers, service delivery, and connectivity. Alternative modes of delivery were introduced, shifting to online education and adopting new teaching methods and assessments to enable students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for their employability. The chapter concludes by arguing that the pandemic effects on human capital development are likely to last for many years to come.