Hidden Economy of Learning

This project develops the Hidden Economy of Learning (HEL) framework — a conceptual approach to analyzing hidden costs of learning in organizational and professional education contexts. HEL treats learning and training not only as developmental interventions, but as institutional arrangements that redistribute time, effort, and responsibility across actors. From this perspective, many learning initiatives function as incomplete contracts, where cost reductions at the design stage lead to systematic cost shifting during implementation and use. The framework integrates insights from research on learner resistance, frustration of autonomy, epistemological beliefs in adult learning, and subjectivity with an institutional analysis of training-related costs. Particular attention is paid to mechanisms such as failure demand, instructional debt, and transfer deficits, through which poorly aligned learning designs generate delayed operational losses rather than immediate educational failure. The project includes conceptual notes, working papers, and analytical materials aimed at making these hidden cost dynamics visible and analytically tractable, providing a basis for further empirical research and more informed decision-making in education and training systems.