ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors argue that transnational human capital has increased in significance over the years for a number of reasons: the march of globalization has increased its real benefits. The new understanding of education and socially desirable qualifications, along with the search of the middle classes for new means of social distinction, has increased the symbolic value of transnational competences. The authors start from the assumption that three broader processes have affected labor market demand for transnational human capital over the last decades. First, the process of job advertisements. Second, the institutionalization of a 'world citizenship' script. And third, the increasing importance of transnational competences as a symbol of distinction, especially for the middle classes. A content analysis of job advertisements of two German newspapers, published between 1960 and 2014, confirmed that labor market demand for transnational human capital has increased over time, especially in its most sought-after form, foreign language skills.
