Why is it the employer's responsibility to provide a living wage?

[Fidel_Castronaut]

How do I define the economic worth of a single cancer research PhD student...
However, I think its much more complex than you appear to imply.

As a business analyst, I can tell you that calculating future/lifetime value on human resource investment is both difficult and complex however it's a necessary component of the Cost/Benefit analysis for any decent strategic investment plan.

Oh indeed. I'm not questioning the worth/value added of doing such a thing.

Rather, I'm questioning Heywood's implicit assumption that (paraphrase) people are pretty good at determining 'value'. I think this assessment is both too simplistic and inaccurate when, as you say, the mere mention of human resource investment brings up issues that the average layman would be unable to comprehend, at least by themselves.

Indeed, the very use of the word 'value' in this respect is vague and needs clarification.