Being Knowledgeable or Sociable? Different Patterns of Human Capital Development and Evaluation in Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills

Abstract

This paper develops a model of college admissions that emphasizes the role of college admissions as a human capital evaluation method. Given multiple dimensions of human capital, different patterns of human capital evaluation and development can emerge as multiple equilibria. These equilibria with a varying emphasis on different aspects of human capital can match an observed difference in college admission patterns between East Asian countries and the U.S. These different patterns are not Pareto ranked. Empirical implications of model are also discussed.