"The Human Capital Century" examines the ways that post-elementary education in the United States during the 20th century was advanced, and argues that the principal reasons for U.S. education advancement were an ethic of egalitarianism (as opposed to elite educational systems in many European countries) and initial factor endowments which led to liberal education instead of vocational education, a high level of return on post-elementary education, geographic mobility, and a decentralized educational system.Virtues contributing to the American educational template included public funding, openness, local control, gender neutrality, separation of church and state, and an academic curriculum.