編者按：中國正日益重視對人力資本的投資。2月4日，中國人民大學重陽金融研究院研究員劉英接受《中國日報》專訪，就為何投資人力資本對國家未來發(fā)展至關重要，以及政府和私營部門必須如何協(xié)同推進這一領域等問題進行解讀。

▲英文原文發(fā)表于《中國日報》2026年2月4日第8版

“投資于人”旨在對全人群進行全生命周期的能力提升與潛力開發(fā)，從而激發(fā)經濟的內生增長動力。

“投資于人”是指緊緊圍繞人的需求而進行的投資，包括用于提升教育與技能、健康與醫(yī)療保障、育幼與養(yǎng)老支持、就業(yè)與收入分配、創(chuàng)新與科研人才培育等方面的資金。這些投資有助于釋放消費潛力、推動創(chuàng)新驅動，為我國實現“人的全面發(fā)展”與“共同富?！蹦繕俗龀鲐暙I。

隨著我國進入高質量發(fā)展階段，消費正在成為經濟增長的主動力。2025年，我國社會消費品零售總額突破50萬億元，對GDP的貢獻率達52%。與此同時，消費結構正從“商品主導向服務主導”升級。

但是，我國居民消費率長期偏低，不少人存在 “有錢不敢花”的傾向。有效需求不足成為制約高質量發(fā)展的瓶頸，亟須通過“投資于人”破解。

另一方面，隨著人口老齡化加劇，我國勞動力供給趨緊。同時，新質生產力的發(fā)展對勞動者技能提出全新要求。面對這一事實，也需要加大“投資于人”的力度，將人口紅利轉化為“人才紅利”。

“投資于人”不是短期刺激政策，而是中國發(fā)展的重要戰(zhàn)略基石之一，因為我們努力工作的目標就是為了滿足人民對美好生活的向往。“投資于人”不僅是福利性支出，而且是驅動消費、支撐產業(yè)升級、提升全要素生產率的戰(zhàn)略性投資。

▲1992——2025年我國投資累計同比增長速度變化情況

“投資于人”需要多方面的主體共同參與，需要多措并舉。其中，政府和社會（私人）資本都應當共同參與“投資于人”的項目。“投資于人”項目一般具有強正向溢出效應，項目的實施可惠及廣大人群。但這類項目普遍具有長周期的特性，以及短期回報不顯著的特點，僅靠財政資金難以全面覆蓋。社會資本則具有運營效率高、創(chuàng)新性強等優(yōu)勢，可有效彌補公共投入的不足。

引導社會資本參與“投資于人”項目，需構建一套完善的政策引導、風險分擔和收益分配體系，實現公共福利目標與商業(yè)運營可持續(xù)的有機統(tǒng)一。

首先，政府應發(fā)揮關鍵的引導和催化作用，通過優(yōu)化制度、穩(wěn)定政策預期來降低社會資本的投資風險。

其次，需要積極探索新的商業(yè)模式，讓人力資本投資形成可持續(xù)的商業(yè)回報。

最后，營造重視人力資本投資的社會共識也至關重要。政府和企業(yè)應共同努力，弘揚“人才是第一資源”的理念。

需要注意的是，在當前強調“投資于人”的背景下，“投資于物”仍是我國經濟增長的關鍵支撐，在當前經濟轉型中仍具有不可替代的重要性。“投資于物”，包括對傳統(tǒng)基建、新型基建和制造業(yè)的投資，構成了我國經濟運行的物質、技術支撐。

“投資于人”與“投資于物”并非相互替代的關系，而是相互促進、辯證統(tǒng)一、協(xié)同促進的關系。二者共同構成了新質生產力發(fā)展的驅動力。

目前，我國超大規(guī)模市場潛力尚未完全釋放。因此，一方面，要通過緊緊圍繞人，加大教育、醫(yī)療、托育、養(yǎng)老等“人”的投資，提升居民可支配收入和預期，降低預防性儲蓄。另一方面，為滿足人民對美好生活的向往，要強化交通、數字基礎設施、城市更新、農村水利等“物”的投資，加快國內統(tǒng)一大市場建設，提升服務質量與可及性。

英文原文

Investment in human capital aims to enhance people's capabilities and develop their potential throughout their life, thereby stimulating endogenous economic growth. Such investments cover projects to enhance people's education, skills and health, support childcare and elderly care services, boost employment, optimize the income distribution system and cultivate innovative and research talent.

Such investment helps unleash the potential of consumption, allows innovation to play a bigger role in economic growth and contributes to the country's efforts to achieve the well-rounded personal development of its population and common prosperity for all.

As China's economy enters a stage of high-quality development, consumption has become a major driving force for its growth. Final consumption expenditure contributed 52 percent to the country's growth in 2025, with total retail sales of consumer goods exceeding 50 trillion yuan ($7.2 trillion). In addition, consumption of services is gaining momentum.

Still, household consumption accounts for a relatively small share of China's GDP. Many people are inclined to save instead of spending. Insufficient consumer demand is a bottleneck for high-quality development, a challenge that should be addressed through investment in human capital.

As China's population gets older, labor supply has tightened. Also, the development of new quality productive forces requires new skills. Given these challenges, investment in human capital needs to be increased to turn China's waning demographic dividend into a waxing "talent dividend".

Investment in human capital is not a short-term stimulus but a strategic cornerstone for China's continued development. It is not only welfare expenditure, but also a means to increase consumption, support industrial upgrading and enhance total factor productivity.

Both the government and the private sector should participate in human capital investment projects. These projects generally have strong positive spillover effects, and tend to benefit a broad segment of the population. However, they usually require long-term commitment and don't offer significant returns in the short term. The government alone cannot undertake all these projects.

The private sector, which is highly efficient and innovative, could play an effective and complementary role in such investments. Sound mechanisms of policy guidance, risk sharing and profit distribution are necessary to encourage the private sector to participate in these projects, and to promote both public interests and sustainable business operations. In this process, the government should play a crucial guiding role by improving regulations and stabilizing policy expectations.

Greater efforts are needed to explore new business models that enable human capital investment projects to generate sustainable returns. At the same time, it's also important to foster a broad social consensus that values such investment. The government and enterprises should work together to promote the idea that "talent is the primary resource".

While China is emphasizing investment in human capital, investment in physical assets should not be ignored. It remains vital for the country's economic growth and transition. Investment in physical assets, including traditional and new infrastructure and the manufacturing sector, provides the material and technological foundation for the country's economy.

It is worth noting that the two kinds of investment are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they reinforce each other. Together, they form the driving force for the development of new quality productive forces.

Both kinds of investment are necessary for fully unleashing the potential of China's superlarge market. Increased human capital investments in education, healthcare, childcare and elderly care would help enhance the disposable incomes of people and their expectations, thus reducing the need for precautionary savings. On the other hand, higher investments in transportation, digital infrastructure, urban renewal projects and rural water supply projects would improve the quality and accessibility of services and help develop a unified national market.