By Liu Lihui, Member of theResearch Team on “The Waxing and Waning of a State and the Role of Human Capital” of DRC，

Research Report No 6, 2016 (Total NO 1481) 2016-2-26

Abstract: Germany became a global strong industrial country in the middle-to-later period of the19th century. National education and scientific and technological progress were the most important drivers. The accumulation of human capital for Germany presented government-led, knowledge-based and vocation-oriented features. Germany implemented firstly national compulsory education and created unique and systematic vocational education, which propelled the educational reform of modern universities and realized the integration of education with the cultivation of national spirit, state development and social demand. The accumulated and rapid development of Germany human capital not only gave a strong boost to industrial and economic growth, but also vigorously strengthened military force and overall power, which played a vital role in guiding, creating and propelling the rising of Germany.

Key words: human capital, the rising of big powers, Germany