This bibliography summarizes recent research on the structure and effectiveness of workforce development programs. While the term "workforce development" can mean many things, this document focuses on programs to help low-skill, low-wage and displaced workers increase their employment and earnings, as well as labor market trends that…

This book-length report, prepared for the Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities of the House Committee on Education and Labor, describes the first comprehensive state-wide assessment of training programs--specifically the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)--in Illinois. The introduction assesses the JTPA in Illinois, a State with high…

This report addresses two concerns of Congress: ways to reduce layoffs and the effectiveness of programs to assist dislocated workers. Section I discusses the reasons for layoffs, economic conditions of the 1980s that led to layoffs, and public policy responses to worker dislocation. Section II describes alternatives to layoffs: short-time…

A study evaluated the economic outcomes of one state-sponsored training program--the California Employment Training Panel (ETP)--which captured the benefits of private job training within a public program. It examined the impact of ETP training on a new group of 41,959 ETP trainees trained in 1990-91 in the year after training and estimated the…

The transformation of Singapore from a stagnating colonial port city in the late 1950s into a newly industrialized city-state in the early 1990s was the outcome of planned adjustments to changing internal and external conditions. Training and retraining programs played a role in these adjustments. Although full employment prevailed in 1979, the…

Re-employment experiences were analyzed for dislocated workers who used the services of the Employment Service (ES) during the 1980s under the Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act (EDWAA). Data came from administrative records in three states--Pennsylvania, California, and Missouri--noteworthy for differences in their…

This book contains 12 chapters, each of which is a case study or a commentary on the unemployment of the 1980s and early 1990s and on the programs devised to retrain workers. Titles and authors are as follows: "Understanding Unemployment: A Critical Overview of Labour Market Trends, Employment, and Unemployment: (John Hughes); "A…

This report is an overview of the current status of farmers in the U.S. economy, with an emphasis on the characteristics of displaced farmers, the reasons for their displacement, the effects of their displacement on the economy, and some policy recommendations for the future. Following an executive summary, the report is organized in five…

The Defense Conversion Adjustment (DCA) Demonstration, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Work-Based Learning, consisted of 19 demonstration projects that used three approaches to alleviate the negative impacts of defense cutbacks on communities, firms, and workers: community planning, dislocation aversion, and worker…

With minor exceptions, the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program is working well and is meeting its legislative mandates. The vigorous public-private partnerships that have emerged at the local community level and the strong leadership role assumed by private sector representatives on the State Job Training Coordinating Councils and Private…

A study examined the experiences of some 1.4 million American defense industry workers, displaced in the wake of the Cold War, as a way of reviewing and evaluating national policies toward worker adjustment and re-employment as they have evolved in the 1990s. The study found that the federal government, through the Department of Labor,…

This policy paper explores the nature and significance of human capital development. Its intended audience includes policymakers, students and researchers, and citizens who bear the ultimate responsibility for public policy. An introductory section defines human capital broadly to include all productive capacities acquired at some cost and…

This report was written for the Technology Policy Task Force of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives. The report examines the nature and history of technological change, its impact on large and small firms and their workers, and its policy implications. The paper stresses that individuals, schools, firms,…

This book documents the range of training programs that are being established by employers and unions; assesses porgram functioning and results; and offers insights for practitioners, scholars, and policy makers. An introduction (Ferman et al.) provides a general framework for thinking about union-management training programs and presents an…

To assess the effectiveness of the Trade Adjustment Assistance and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Transitional Adjustment Assistance programs, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed available Department of Labor program data and surveyed 20 states representing about 76% of all workers certified under the two programs in fiscal…