Analysis of Human Capital Status of Rural Surplus Labor in Shaanxi Province
陕西农村剩余劳动力人力资本状况解析

From the view of resource economics, the quality of human resources, that is the manpower capital, is a significant factor that impacts the labor efficiency. As one of the most important human resources since the reform and opening up, rural surplus labor has made historic contribution for industrialization and urbanization of China. However, some practical problems such as low quality human capital and irrational structure also exist. At present, rural surplus labor is the focus point for sustainable development and the key point for facilitating the urbanization process and new rural reconstruction. Essentially the question of human capital not only relates to individual survival and development, but also influences the sustainable development of Chinese society. Since the 1980s, this question has aroused more and more attention from governments of different levels as well as the academic circle. This paper has estimated the scale of rural surplus labor in Shaanxi with proportion method of cultivated land labor and studied the status quo of human capital quality. The results show that there mainly exist the following problems: 1) Lots of rural surplus labors exist in Shaanxi and the total amount is increasing; 2) The quality of human capital of rural surplus labor is relatively low due to the limitation of education degree and labor skills; 3) The human capital structure is not rational. Therefore, increasing educational investment of human capital for rural surplus labor is not only the main content reflecting social justice and harmonious development, but also a fundamental strategy for transforming the unbalanced economic situation formed in the past years in urban and rural areas of Shaanxi and even the whole country, accelerating the transition of surplus labor in Shaanxi, promoting industrialization and urbanization process, and further realizing sustainable and healthy economic development in Shaanxi and even the country in the future. To push forward the economic development of Shaanxi, it is necessary to strengthen education in rural area, improve the health level, education degree and labor technique through public policies so that to ensure the basic social rights of rural surplus labor force.