On the basis of a sociological survey of the labor force of the Republic of Karelia, a typology of investment behavior of the population in the labor market was developed, which included four main strategies for the development of human capital – accumulation, profit maximization or capitalization, maintaining positions in the labor market, and leaving the labor market. This research examined whether the choice of a strategy for using accumulated individual human capital is associated with the stage of the person’s life cycle, and the specific patterns of behavior in the labor market and in society. The life cycle stages were identified. Each stage corresponded to an institutionalized ‘investment profile’ with a dominant investment actor: family, employee, employer, state. The study developed and tested a methodology for the assessment of regional human capital. It was found that the investment behavior of an individual is associated with one’s primary and secondary social environment, which acts as an investment actor. The investment actors in the study were: family, employer, employee, and state. Accordingly, these were operationalized through two groups of indicators: socio-demographic and the economic activity of the region’s population.
Keywords: human capital, labor market, investment behavior, investment actor