Panama has achieved socio-economic improvements in recent decades thanks to strong economic growth and consequent poverty reduction. Its growth model is characterised by a dual economy in which a small number of activities, including those related to the Canal and Special Economic Zones, have exhibited high productivity growth but limited job…

The relationship between the state and higher education institutions has always been a complex one. The "state" itself in this context is a heterogeneous mix of elite people--bureaucrats, politicians, committees of co-opted academics and business leader--and it increasingly faces pressures from diverse stakeholders, including students…

This book synthesizes and analyzes much of the theoretical and practical literature on rural economic development and related issues from the past two decades with the aim of initiating construction of a new model for U.S. rural development policy. Part I emphasizes the national and global context within which U.S. rural development must take…

This book contains 12 papers that were produced as a result of a seminar program on selected issues central to the debate over job training in Great Britain. The first paper, "Why We Need a Training Reform Act" (Richard Layard, Ken Mayhew, Geoffrey Owen), examines existing deficiencies in vocational education and training in Britain and…

The effectiveness of state enterprise zone programs was examined by using a hypothetical-firm model called the Tax and Incentives Model-Enterprise Zones (TAIM-ez) model to analyze the value of enterprise zone incentives to businesses across the United States and especially in the 13 states that had substantial enterprise zone programs by 1990. The…

This book contains 13 papers on labor market and welfare reform, with special emphasis on the demand for low-wage workers, wages and job characteristics in the less skilled labor market, public politics to increase employment and earnings of less skilled workers, and the impact of welfare reform. The following papers are included: "The Labor…

The 36-year effort to provide a second chance at labor market success for disadvantaged and dislocated youth and adults was reviewed. The following issues were considered: (1) current legislative proposals; (2) lessons from past employment and training programs; (3) the labor market challenges faced by young adults, older workers, dislocated…

This book, which is intended for policymakers, administrators, and researchers, contains 13 research papers and reviews of the literature on increasing the effectiveness of publicly funded training. The following papers are included: "Publicly Funded Training in a Changing Labor Market" (Burt S. Barnow, Christopher T. King); "The…