Ample evidence indicates that a person's human capital is important for success on the labor market in terms of both wages and employment prospects. However, unlike the efforts to identify the impact of school attainment on labor-market outcomes, the literature on returns to cognitive skills has not yet provided convincing evidence that the…

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest…

International businesses face a difficult task when trying to decide where to place or expand a business that could be located anywhere in the world. Each country is a complex system of human capabilities, technical systems, [infrastructure bases, laws, cultures and economic systems. How can a company know which country is best for it today, and…

Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the…

The "OECD Skills Studies" series aims to provide a strategic approach to skills policies. It presents OECD internationally comparable indicators and policy analysis covering issues such as: quality of education and curricula; transitions from school to work; vocational education and training (VET); employment and unemployment; innovative…

In the wake of the technological revolution that began in the last decades of the 20th century, labour market demand for information-processing and other high-level cognitive and interpersonal skills is growing substantially. The "Survey of Adult Skills," a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult…

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the link between age and proficiency in information-processing skills, based on information drawn from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The data reveal significant age-related differences in proficiencies, strongly suggesting that proficiency tends to "naturally" decline with age. Age…

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.…

In international comparisons it was found that manufacturing productivity growth slowed after 1973 and unit labor costs accelerated in most industrial countries including the United States. Aggregate hours rose only in the U.S. (CT)

This volume presents 6 papers by 22 labor economists who examine and address worker displacement in 10 industrialized countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, United States). "Summary and Synthesis" (Peter J. Kuhn) discusses these four categories of lessons learned from panel…

Examines the comparative labor market experience of youth in the United States and eight other developed countries from 1960-1979, focusing upon unemployment levels and rates. Finds that the situation worsened in industrialized nations after the 1974-75 recession and that Japanese and German youth continue to have the most favorable job prospects.…

Based on a survey, college/university faculty salaries, working conditions, workload, and salaries in 10 countries (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, United States, Australia, Japan) are compared and barriers to occupational and geographic mobility are identified. Suggestions are made for fostering academic…

This bulletin examines the labor market experience of youth in the United States and eight other industrial countries from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. The analysis focuses upon unemployment, the most visible and measurable form of labor underutilization. The report highlights the size of the youth unemployment problem and discusses some of…

A recent compilation of educational indicators from 20 industrialized countries in North America, the Pacific, Europe, and Scandinavia shows rates and trends in college enrollment and graduation, education-related earning power for men and women, and public spending on education. Educational attainment rates are charted for the 20 nations. (MSE)

This book contains nine papers devoted to the psychological experience of youth employment and its role in shaping future employment experiences and expectations. "Introduction" (Julian Barling, E. Kevin Kelloway) emphasizes the diversity of young people as a group and the diversity of individual youth's employment experience. "The…