The goal this article is to describe the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, compare the situation in the United States (U.S.) to that of similar countries, and analyze the actions taken by the U.S. government. The authors chose to compare the U.S. to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany as these countries are similar to the U.S. in their…

Looking at the rise of world-class universities through history, creating an institutional environment in which universities are relatively autonomous, while also ensuring effective material support from the government is essential for the formation of world-class universities. It is worth examining the deteriorating academic environment in China…

As described in "Go8 Backgrounder 24: Answering the Global Challenge--Experiences from European Excellence Initiatives," Germany began a debate about how to strengthen its position as an excellent location for science and research in 2004. This debate focussed in particular on the competitiveness of the country's universities and…

The development of world-class universities is high on the policy agenda of governments across the globe. China's 985 Project is among the earliest national initiatives to concentrate research funding to build world-class universities. Ten years after it was initiated, the project has enabled selected institutions to improve their research and…

This paper contributes to the debate over how the federal government can best help state and local authorities improve student achievement by providing examples from other countries of innovations in the role of the national government. The authors believe that the degree to which foreign policy structures parallel those of the United States are…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

This paper on multimedia in German libraries begins with an introduction to multimedia. Initiatives of the federal government and in the Laender (federal states) are then described, including: a 1997 symposium organized by the university library of Goettingen that presented several multimedia models developed in universities; the multimedia…

This report updates 1979 studies of European practice in catering training and education. Section 1 provides background. Section 2 describes the structure of West German federal and state government and their respective responsibilities for vocational education and training, including the dual system of apprentice training and the role played in…

A study examined how the cross-national differences in the social contract among managers, unions, and government influenced adjustment strategies in steel. The restructuring process in eight major steel-producing countries was studied to determine who bore the costs of restructuring--employers, employees, or government--and which industrial…

This report is a primer on the multifaceted issues that state legislators are likely to confront under the rubric of human resource development. Chapter 1 proposes a philosophy: enabling every citizen to become a productive member of the 21st century economy is in a state's best interest both socially and fiscally. Chapter 2 focuses on the premium…

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the individual states have exclusive responsibility for publicly run education, which includes vocational schools. Responsibility for vocational training on the job rests exclusively with the federal government. The roots of vocational training are in medieval apprenticeship training and religious and industrial…

The dual job training system in Germany is an essential market parameter of the country's economy and a part of the country's growth policy. By improving human capital (by providing training in high-tech sectors) it will also help safeguard Germany's future as a major industrial nation. Training primarily takes place in handicraft and industrial…

A discussion of the current status of the German system of higher education looks at its relationship to federal and state governments, its administrative organization, problems (particularly in the eastern states) and areas where reform is needed, availability of student services, and the significance for the system as a whole of social and…

A comparative analysis of family policy in various nations looks at state financial support for families and in particular how professional women in academia fare internationally with respect to state support for their families. The analysis includes a review of the general development of family support through the industrial revolution and the…

These papers come from a 2001 conference that explored language policy issues at the global, U.S. national, and California regional levels. There are 15 papers in five sections. Section 1, "National Language Policy," includes (1) "Language and Globalization: Why National Policies Matter" (Chester D. Haskell) and (2) "Real…