Briefly explain how differences in human capital may be the result of discrimination. Give an example.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Student examples will vary. A sample answer follows: The differences in human
capital may be a result of discrimination. Historically, females have had less access to
rigorous academic curriculum and black students have had inferior educational
experiences with a lot fewer resources. While these have economic implications now
they may have had their origins shaped through the political process years ago. For
example, Monique grew up in a poor neighborhood of Chicago and attended schools
with old textbooks and few extracurricular programs. Although she was intelligent, her
inferior education prevented her from being admitted to a good university. Instead,
because she was ambitious, she took courses at a city college. This educational disparity will cause her to have a harder time getting a good entry-level job, which in
turn may cause her career advancement to lag behind people of the same age who
attended prestigious universities, gaining better skills and forming more helpful
networks.