This paper reports that between 2008 and 2009, unemployment rates across OECD countries increased among people at all educational levels, but rose to especially troubling heights among people without an upper secondary education. In 2009, the average employment rate across OECD countries was much higher for individuals with a tertiary (i.e.…

The urgent demographic situation has led to an acute awareness of the necessity of far-reaching decisions to strengthen the family and implement radical measures of family policy. Many experts are talking about the crisis of the institution of the family, about the loss of the importance of family values among a substantial portion of Russians,…

Rwanda is on the verge of a breakthrough. Having weathered one of the worst humanitarian crises imaginable just fifteen years ago, and with an impoverished countryside plagued by HIV/AIDS, hunger, and malaria, Rwanda seems an unlikely place for an economic renaissance. Yet the nation's commitment to good government and support for free market…

With life expectancy increasing, and changes to public policy aimed at encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce, the conditions under which people decide to retire have changed in recent years. This report describes the characteristics of those who continue to work beyond the age of 65. The findings show that two groups of workers, in…

The report confirms the importance of training for the European Union (EU) industrial policy. It demonstrates that sectors where training is firmly integrated in human resource practices have higher productivity gains. Such economic benefits are not only realised through developing workers' skills, but also thanks to higher job satisfaction and…

A pilot evaluation is reported of a reminiscence program aimed at increasing personal meaning. Fifty-seven older persons completed both a sentence completion questionnaire measuring personal meaning and a depression scale administered before and after the program. In comparison to a group from a representative survey that was matched on life…

This fact book provides demographic, social, economic, and other statistical information of Italian immigrants in Canada. Based on the 1971 and 1976 censuses of Canada and on information from recent Italian and other Canadian sources, the fact book includes tables and figures on numbers of Italians in Canada by age, sex, and linguistic group;…

Understanding the quality of the day care environment is useful for practitioners and policymakers in the evaluation and improvement of day care provisions. Regulated features, interactive dimensions and global indices of quality have been examined in relation to child developmental outcomes. This study investigated the effects of variations in…

This report documents the central role of the college-educated workforce in improving labour productivity across the economy and supporting an innovation culture in the workplace. It describes critical "enabling occupations" that play a key role in allowing companies to build a culture of innovation in the workplace which they need if…

This document provides information on eleven basic indicators of the well being of young children, their families, and communities worldwide. It consists of two parts: The first summarizes information on the importance of the early childhood period for children, the education system, and parents; describes the organization of efficient early…

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. Breaking the inter-generational transmission of poverty requires far-reaching actions in the education sector. Widespread poverty affects both students' performance and their availability to attend…

This follow-up study surveyed members of the Association of University Staff of New Zealand concerning their workload and stress levels and compared findings to a similar survey conducted in 1994. Survey responses (n=1155) were analyzed in terms of employment status, work hours, salary, responsibilities, changes and their impact, stresses and…

The literature on employment growth in the United States and selected industrialized countries and the wage, benefits, and job security characteristics of new and existing jobs were analyzed to determine how job growth and quality in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s compares to that in other industrialized countries. Among the study's…

Nearly 1,000 technical and further education (TAFE) teachers in Australia responded to a national survey to determine the impact of funding cuts, constant changes, and restructuring on their work and family life. More than 2,000 questionnaires were sent to a random sample of education union members, approximately 1,700 women and 300 men. In…