Data from the 1980 and 1990 Current Population Survey files show an increasing proportion of female householder families and increasing poverty rates among Hispanic females in Texas, despite increases in labor force participation rates, hours spent in paid labor, and levels of education. Results refute human-capital and cultural-context…

Explores the impact on Canadian schools of the market economy discourse on education that emerges from international organizations and Canadian business and government agencies. Argues that market economy policies have a deleterious effect on curriculum theory and development, and suggests that educators use critical thinking tools to resist this…

Economists are aware of the importance of human capital in the process of development, whereas policy makers are only now exploring its implications, pressed by demands for more jobs and higher incomes. Recent research in the dynamics of labor markets illustrates how the results can help shape education and training policy in the United States.…

The cost of education to a country consists of total public education expenditures, total direct private cost, and total indirect private cost measured in terms of foregone earnings; improperly estimated educational costs focus only on government education expenditures. Considerable progress has been made in conceptual understanding of educational…

Two decades of research on the external efficacy of educational investments in developing countries have produced a persuasive rationale for expanding access to schooling and raising educational attainment levels. Schooling has been associated with such outcomes as the following: (1) rationalistic attitudes conducive to participating in modern…

The literature shows a strong connection between education standards and economic development, but the mechanisms are many and complex. Four human capital development approaches are available: redesigning and rebuilding the foundation (scrapping the back-to-basics approach); stressing applications skills required by high-performance organizations;…

Examines research relating farm size inversely to specialization and directly to farm-enterprise diversification. Develops model of farm management decision making. Tests model using survey examining land tenure, off-farm work, education, and environmental factors. Concludes diversification linked to farm size, human capital, and environmental…

Outlines trends and challenges in job skills development, theoretical links between human capital and economic performance, methodological and measurement problems in analyzing return on investment. Presents case studies of approaches in France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with public policy implications. (SK)

A review of five sets of educational goals reveals an emphasis on academic and social goals over economic goals. This contrasts with current concerns for the economic utility of education and for increased accountability. Primary agents for achieving both academic and economic goals are strong central control of objectives but school-based…

A review of the literature of research in education and economics revealed very limited linkages between education (human capital) and economic development. Much of the economic development research has been carried out in developing nations and is case-study based. Many case studies concentrate on identifying factors that influence location or…

Significant concepts and emerging implications of technology, development of human capital, and visionary leadership can be applied to the design of vocational, technical, and occupational education to enable such education to meet the needs of today's information and service society. People without functional skills will be the technology…

Economic competitiveness is today's most critical issue. Keeping the United States competitive in the world marketplace means the difference between a rising standard of living for everyone and the disappearance of what is taken for granted as a way of life. Developing human capital is the route toward successful competition, as some examples…

This book discusses the economics of immigration, analyzing immigrants' skills, national origins, welfare use, economic mobility, and impact on the labor market and using new data to trace current trends in ethnic segregation. Twelve chapters examine (1) "Reframing the Immigration Debate"; (2) "The Skills of Immigrants"; (3)…

This article begins by surveying the major theoretical approaches to studying sex differences in the labor market. Focusing on developing nations, it then analyzes major manifestations of sex differences in labor market consequences of education: market-activity rates, wages, earnings profiles and rates of return, and occupational distribution.…

The overall economic well-being of U.S. rural communities is on the decline. Rural America is now dependent on a highly diversified economy, and its problems will not be resolved through improved farm income alone. Various weaknesses in rural development policies must be addressed. The narrow policy focus on attracting manufacturing industries to…