Nobel Prize Winner gives lecture at Zayed University

Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides, Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance, has given a lecture for students at Zayed University at Abu Dhabi campus.

Mr. Pissarides won a Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 2010 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2013 in recognition of his services and contributions to economics.

The lecture, which was held under the patronage of Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance and President of Zayed University, focused on ‘Human Capital as a Factor of Economic Development and Growth’.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Reyadh AlMehaideb, Vice President of Zayed University, said, "The government is very keen on creating an environment that develops teamwork, commitment, and leadership. It invests heavily in training, development programmes, and manpower attraction to develop young Emirati leaders and invest in human capital to achieve success and contribute to the prosperity of the UAE."

Mr. Pissarides said, "I am really pleased to be here at Zayed University talking to you about human capital, one of the things that has interested me for the last 30 years or so. I am going to address broader questions that have to do with human capital."

During his lecture, Pissarides highlighted the impact of incentives and institutional structure on the productivity of humans as well as firms. He pointed out that investment in human capital can add from 3-15 percent to economic growth depending on the institutional structure in different countries.

The Nobel Prize winner advised to design curricula that encourages more interaction and thus enhance creativity and innovation, saying, "The other training that we are all behind is the social training and human interaction. We don’t have nearly as much as we need. It is very essential to know how to interact with each other."