Rural America has long been perceived as "left behind" by policies that leave it struggling while benefiting bustling urban cities and suburbs. That narrative holds some truth: rural America has a declining population, along with lower educational attainment and lower workforce participation than urban America. But while rural America…

As we approach this Labor Day, the Pennsylvania economy is growing steadily. Working families are sharing in prosperity in a more sustained way than at any point since 1980--although many families still struggle to make ends meet and, in our polarized nation, a big partisan divide exists in perceptions of whether the economy is better than four…

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected record-breaking growth in 2021, but it is premature to celebrate this rosy macroeconomic picture. In the same document, the CBO also made an alarming prediction: The U.S. labor market will not fully recover until 2024. Recent U.S. jobs reports reveal the depth of the pandemic-created…

Purpose: Kenya leads East Africa in creative goods export and enjoys high internet penetration. Therefore, identifying pathways, missed opportunities for accelerating job creation and development in the sector and strategies for mitigating youth-related challenges are essential. This paper therefore aims to examine the effects of digital media and…

Between Utah's strong economic measures and numerous nationally recognized achievements (i.e. Best States Rankings, Top States for Business 2019, Utah Ranks Among the Fastest Growing States in the Nation), it is clear that the state's economy has experienced one of the strongest expansions in the country. As Utah's economy prospers, the need for…

Public investment in education and training occupies an important proportion in Vietnam public budget, approximately 20%, equivalent to 5% GDP. Public investment in education and training has many positive benefits and impact on the economy and society by contributing to economic growth, by improving the national productivity, people's…

Over two-thirds of all Illinois residents live in Chicago's metropolitan area. The third largest city in the United States and also the third most economically productive, the Windy City benefits from unrivalled industry diversity. Like any other city, however, Chicago faces the policy challenge of supporting well-paid employment opportunities for…

There has been an alarming rate of graduate unemployment in Mauritius over the past 5 years. The education system has been criticized for being too academic and not driven by the requirements of industry, leading to a skills mismatch. The Mauritian government has consequently announced several new schemes to boost employment and economic growth.…

Hiring people who have served prison sentences has never been a priority in the United States. For men and women who were once incarcerated, finding any job is difficult; finding a sustainable, family-supporting job is nearly impossible. Today the country is at a critical crossroads on this issue, and it's time for change. As the nation works in…

Intermediaries--also referred to as bridge builders, boundary spanners, conveners, and other names--fill the critical role of connecting all the parties in the system to empower people with the skills required in the labor force. Those parties generally include employers, educators, workers, and prospective workers. Within these categories may…

In Australia, like many western countries, there has been a convergence of education policy around a set of utilitarian and economistic approaches to vocational education and training in schools. Such approaches are based on the assumption that there is a direct relationship between national economic growth, productivity and human capital…

This paper assesses the extent to which Rhode Island's workforce lacks skills that are in demand among the state's current and potential employers and, if so, whether such a skills gap or labor market "mismatch" significantly restrains employment growth in the state. Using an index developed by Sahin et al. (2014), we find that…

The social and economic development of the country was subjected to serious trials in 2009. The world financial and economic crisis had a negative effect on the main basic indicators of the economy. This had an immediate impact on the social labor sphere. Many social indicators went downhill. In particular, that led to a decline in real wages and…

Governments in advanced liberal democracies have assigned Vocational Education and Training (VET) a critical role in preparing a productive workforce for the broader economy. This linkage opens the way to use economic theories to expand the understanding of VET. Noted economic theorists have described the use of one economic reductionist technique…

This hearing reviewed ways individuals can make federal job training programs more efficient and effective. Such programs are critical to fostering a competitive workforce and assisting unemployed citizens. However, serious concerns about program fragmentation and potential duplication exist that could result in significant waste. This Committee…