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1. Introduction
Human capital is traditionally defined as “the knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in individuals that are relevant to economic activity”. It is a key element in the knowledge economy and plays a decisive role in the functioning and development of entrepreneurship and the achievement of economic growth. This treatment of the concept of human capital shows that the role of people in production and distribution processes consists not only in performing mechanical labor, which could easily be automatized in the digital economy, but also in performing important organizational and intellectual professional tasks, aimed at transforming other production factors into final products.
Human capital embodies not only labor, as an inseparable component of being human, but also, more importantly, the social qualities of a human, which are used in the process of labor and in the ability to undertake innovative activities – qualities that differentiate human capital from AI, with which it now competes in Industry 4.0. This modern definition emphasizes the uniqueness and high value of human capital. Unlike replaceable labor, human capital is unique and requires nurturing and development, as well as consideration of its positive social qualities.
Acknowledgment of the significance of the social essence of human capital shows the necessity for its careful management to create favorable conditions for its most effective usage to support entrepreneurship and economic growth. Such management should be social – it should take into account the specific attributes of each employee as a subject of human capital and support them through an individual approach, thus creating mutual benefits and profit – for the company, the economy and the employee. This causes high complexity and even contradiction, as the social management of human capital should lead not to a depletion of its capabilities but, on the contrary, ensure its development.
As of now, there are two methodological approaches to the social management of human capital. The first approach is based on the ideas of modern socialism and envisages that the main managerial functions are performed by the state. The state sets high taxes on labor (individual income tax, social fees) and redistributes the received tax revenues for the provision of social justice in the labor market and social support for the unemployed, sets high...