The rising wage inequality in U.S. urban labor markets during the 1980s was examined in a study of 20 metropolitan area labor markets. The study's perspective differs from the prevailing perspective on the problem in three ways: (1) it focuses on changes in the wage structure in a sample of local labor markets; (2) it examines changes in the…

The role of the social sciences and the humanities in a knowledge-based economy was examined in a comparative study of the income and employment outcomes of secondary-, postsecondary-, and graduate-level study programs in technical fields, the social sciences, and the humanities in 1991-1996. Special attention was paid to the following areas: the…

Recent employment law reforms in England precipitated a telephone survey of a stratified random sample of 5,120 employed people (1,000 respondents) that was intended to find their levels of awareness and knowledge of employment rights and their exercise of those rights. Survey results included the following: (1) nearly 70% of those questioned…

The practices and perceptions of Wisconsin employers regarding welfare recipients were examined. First, 500 employers outside the Milwaukee metropolitan area were interviewed by telephone. Those data were merged with data from a survey of Milwaukee-area employers, resulting in a statewide sample of about 1,250 Wisconsin employers (25%, 35%, and…

The lives of working-class women were explored through interviews with 63 middle-aged women, most of whom were employed in working-class jobs and living working-class lives in Baltimore, Maryland. The following were among the areas covered in the interviews: the women's lives on and off the job; their job satisfaction; the reasons they work and…

The 2-year impacts of 11 welfare-to-work programs across the United States were evaluated to determine the relative effectiveness of different approaches to moving individuals from welfare to work. All 11 programs operated under the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program. Four programs were employment focused (three low-enforcement and one…

This document contains the papers from a conference on current research in vocational education and training (VET) and human resource development in Europe. The following papers are among those included: "The Contribution of the German Pilot Project 'New Learning Concepts within the Dual Vocational Education and Training System' towards the…