Recent research on economic returns to higher education in the United States suggests that those with the highest wage returns to a college degree are least likely to obtain one. We extend the study of heterogeneous returns to tertiary education across multiple institutional contexts, investigating how the relationship between wage returns and the…

Academic careers are social processes which involve many members of large populations over long periods of time. This paper outlines a discursive perspective which looks into how academics are categorized in academic systems. From a discursive view, academic careers are organized by categories which can define who academics are (subjectivation)…

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…

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…

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.…

We use a new, matched worker-firm dataset for the United Kingdom to estimate the income loss resulting from firm closure and mass layoffs. We track workers for up to nine years after the displacement event, and the availability of predisplacement characteristics allows us to implement difference-in-differences estimators using propensity score…

Since 2004, the devolved education systems of England, Scotland and Wales have introduced initiatives to increase contact between employers and young people, particularly aged 14-19, as a supplementary, co-curricular activity within mainstream education. The initiatives are motivated partly to increase wage-earning potential but studies to date…

Gender discrimination and wage inequity remain problems worldwide. In the United States and Canada, where equal rights and protective legislation have been in place for nearly 40 years, glaring disparities in salaries and job opportunities remain. Similar problems have been studied in the United Kingdom, leading to enactment of the 1975 Sex…

Recent developments in equal pay, equal employment opportunities, women's involvement in trade unions, and the impact of women's work on family life and national development are reviewed. (SK)

Using 1990 US census data, examines the relationship between overeducation and earnings focusing on individuals with postcollege schooling. Finds that being overeducated increases the wages of men working at a job requiring a bachelor's degree. Compares results with findings in Canada and the United Kingdom. Suggests that overeducation contributes…

Long-term illness (LTI) is a more prevalent workplace risk than fatal accidents but there is virtually no evidence for compensating differentials for a broad measure of LTI. In 1990 almost 3.4 percent of the U.K. adult population suffered from a LTI caused solely by their working conditions. This paper provides the first estimates of compensating…

To determine the relationship between wage structure and employment patterns available evidence on changes in relative earnings and in relative numbers employed were surveyed for periods up to 15 years in 10 countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some findings…

Examines the scale and determinants of alumni giving, using datasets from two public-sector UK universities. Considers the importance of alumni giving as revenue and performance measures, comparing UK with U.S. alumni behaviors. Women are more likely to give; high-income grads, particularly lawyers, give greater amounts. (Contains 35 references.)…

Drawing on empirical studies from five countries (Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, and United States), over 2 decades, outlines irregularities in the incidence of over- and under-education and consequences for individual earnings. The overall incidence of overeducation in the labor market is about 26 percent. (Contains 33 references.)…