ANALYSIS OF EARNINGS SURPLUS BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL IN HUNGARY, BETWEEN 2004 AND 2013

According to the human capital theory, education can be seen as an investment into individual human capital. The profitability of human capital investment is partly determined by the individuals’ work-related earnings. The study examines how work-related earnings and the gap between gross earnings at different educational level changed in Hungary, between 2004 and 2013. An indicator is defined and presented to measure the change in gross earnings and net earnings caused by the education as the human capital investment. Moreover, we examine the change in earnings surplus by educational level, look for the answer to the question whether the gap between earnings for individuals with different educational attainment increased or decreased in Hungary from 2004 to 2013.