Pundits and bureaucrats use the results from international tests, particularly the PISA, to make claims about the quality of the public education system in the United States and make policy recommendations. In this article I argue, with evidence, that the scores and rankings from PISA are not important and that they cannot give policy makers or…

Discusses evolution of current welfare system. Suggests in light of postindustrial economy priorities of welfare system need to be reexamined. Notes need to address the "pauperization" of women. Analyzes poverty rates for women from 1978-1983. Provides proposals for helping women in the labor market. Contends social workers must be…

Discusses the shift from rights of labor through the right to labor, to the duty to labor and the changes that have resulted. Suggests that the result is global awareness of pervasive social and economic insecurity. (Author/JOW)

This report highlights the interconnectedness of welfare reform and broader strategies concerning the economy, education, and the conditions of work. Recommendations are presented for policies that would help working poor families avoid dependence on welfare. The report is divided into five chapters. Chapter I summarizes major findings and…

Assesses the major claims and counterclaims in the debate on the desirability of attaching work-related obligations to the receipt of welfare benefits. Attempts to reach a balanced judgment on whether labor policy should continue moving in that direction. (JOW)

This article is based on a textual analysis of European Commission documents that, from 1993 to 2006, construct the discourses of lifelong learning and the knowledge economy. Exploring an apparent conceptual laxity, it finds absolute consistency in the construction of two categories of learner: the high knowledge-skilled learner…

Although racial discrimination contributes to increasing urban social dislocation, problems such as massive joblessness, the influx of migrants to cities, and demographic shifts underlie the current crisis. Change will only come about through public policies that benefit all the poor, not just poor minorities. (Author/GC)

Discusses the impact of generally poor, unskilled immigrants upon the lowest sector of the American labor force and upon health and social services. Holds that rather than blaming immigrants, the United States should concentrate on helping the American poor to acquire better education and job skills. (Author/GC)

Improved economic trends have assured jobs for all. They may be low-paying, but this does not cause poverty. Many persons want "good" jobs for which they are not qualified. Welfare dependence stems from the reluctance of adults to work at menial jobs. To be decided is whether the government is obligated to provide good jobs. (VM)

The label "underclass" obscures structural economic change and distorts the realities of poverty. It pays insufficient attention to factors for understanding marginal people--labor market shifts, the poor's lack of safety nets, and interactions between these factors and social problems. Specific policies must confront the divergent…

The gap between black and white median age, employment, and imprisonment is increasing. Up until the present period, structural, demographic, and cultural factors combined to sustain both hope and illusion for blacks who have so long been at the base of the American social and economic system. That combination is rapidly unravelling. (BJV)

Examines three theses that attempt to explain the rise of concentrated poverty and the growth of racial inequality in urban areas. Census data from 1970 and 1980 for Detroit (Michigan) provide the most support for the idea that economic decline and uneven economic growth are responsible. (SLD)

The growing gap between the skill requirements of jobs and workers' capabilities, the slow growth of the U.S. work force, and the demands of a global economy will reshape the work force in Ohio. To meet these challenges, the Governor's Human Resources Advisory Council proposes as its mission the achievement and maintenance of a high performance…

Faulty laws, unfair practices, and years of tradition in the workplace keep women from economic equality. The Economic Equity Act proposed by Congress will address inequalities in tax and retirement matters, the need for better dependent care, nondiscrimination in insurance, regulatory reform, and child support enforcement. (IS)

This report describes the current status of families headed by persons under age 30, and compares the economic well-being of the current generation of young families in 1990 with that of young families in the 1970s and 1980s. The report documents falling incomes and growing poverty among young families, factors underlying young families' economic…