ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the evidence that can be brought to bear on this hypothesis and conclude that, at least in its simpler quantitative variants, it fails to account for observed earnings differentials in the USSR. Human capital theory claims that the remuneration of individuals can be thought of as comprising a reward for simple labour and a return on human capital. Soviet statistics on education are presented in terms of the number of persons in specified population groups who have attained particular educational standards. The format in which Soviet statisticians present information about the educational attainments of the population can be used to derive a general impression of educational standards; but it is not very suitable for explicit measurement of changes or of differences in the level attained by different sub-populations.
