This paper explores the impact of policies and institutions on employment and unemployment of OECD countries in the past decades. Reduced-form unemployment equations, consistent with standard wage setting/price-setting models, are estimated using cross-country/time-series data from 21 OECD countries over the period 1982-2003. In the…

On average, unemployed U.S. citizens remain jobless for much less time than their European counterparts do. The relatively low level of unemployment in the United States is attributable to two factors: a social protection system that offers far less protection than those in Western Europe do and a broad range of job openings. The fact that…

Observations of schools and the economies of various countries and regions (including the Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States) suggest that the following generally accepted principles may be called hoaxes: (1) great numbers of new emerging jobs of the future will require much higher skill levels for workers; (2)…

The problems facing young people in Australia's current labor market and the effectiveness of Australia's educational system in preparing young people for the labor market were examined. Particular attention was paid to the following issues: the reshaping of work in the modern labor market; skill development in the modern labor market; the impact…

This document summarizes the debates that occurred at a European seminar on the adaptation of workers to industrial change. The document begins with the following three speeches: "The Challenges of Adapting Workers to Industrial Change" (Dominique Balmary); "Objective 4 of the Structural Funds: A Response to the Double Challenge of…

The impacts and cost-effectiveness of adult basic education (ABE) in Sub-Saharan Africa were examined in a review of the new generation of ABE programs in the region. African experts and other international resource persons examined documentation from recent adult literacy, numeracy, and other educational programs targeted toward individuals over…

Trends in higher education (HE) in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom in the 1990s were reviewed, and possible policy directions for HE in the 21st century were explored. Special attention was paid to the following areas: features of HE institutions in the 21st century; the relationship between the state and HE institutions; curriculum…

This paper examines the personal and societal choices that will shape the kind of country Canada will become. It is argued that Canadian policymakers' current approach to work, family, and urban life is based on patterns and associations that were developed in an earlier time and no longer reflect Canadians' experiences in the 2000s. Recent trends…

This book examines trends and problems in Canadian workplaces and advocates a people-centered agenda for improving the quality of working life. Chapters 1-9 discuss the following topics: the future of work; the crisis in work; what Canadians want from work; the "new economy"; education, skills, and the knowledge economy; youth and work;…

The rhetoric surrounding career education programs was examined by exploring two questions. The first question was which employment sectors anticipate significant job growth and what skill levels and academic competencies were required to work within those sectors. The second question was whether increasing the level of student knowledge and skill…

Despite their highly divergent situations, young people largely share the same values, ambitions, and difficulties. Despite the more complex social and economic context in which young Europeans are currently living, they are well equipped to adapt. National and European policymakers must facilitate this process of change by making young people…

In the era of globalization, Malaysia's ability to remain economically competitive depends on the skills of its workforce. The policies and practices of Malaysia's vocational education system must be revised to do more to give the country's disabled citizens the training they need to find employment and become taxpayers. More concerted efforts are…

The role of the social sciences and the humanities in a knowledge-based economy was examined in a comparative study of the income and employment outcomes of secondary-, postsecondary-, and graduate-level study programs in technical fields, the social sciences, and the humanities in 1991-1996. Special attention was paid to the following areas: the…

This partially annotated and selected bibliography lists several hundred publications on the topics of gender and gender and education at the global level and in countries located in the following areas: Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central and East Asia, Latin America, and Tropical Island…