In large aspects of contemporary career discourse, the importance of the "agile career" is asserted, although the speed of change has not been explicitly considered in relation to this concept. The political dimensions of the agile career via the lens of "speed" are explored in this theoretical paper. Particular attention is…

Although considerable discussion has been devoted to the macro determinants of labor market variables across genders, comparatively little attention has been given to the contribution of the informal economy to this market. This study was aimed at empirically investigating the impact of the size of the shadow or informal economy (IE) on labor…

Over the past 30 years, a shift occurred in higher education that saw more of the burden for paying for postsecondary education placed on students. Combined with rising tuition and fees, this has led students to take on increasing amounts of student debt. Despite the historic rise in student loans, surprisingly little attention has focused on…

The advantages of higher education have received significant attention over time. However, recent research seems to challenge this assumption. It highlights that returns to education may be subject to inflation, may vary in relation to skills, and may not be equally distributed, thus posing new questions about the role of formal education. Against…

This dissertation studies the effect of higher education costs on students' outcomes in the labor market, particularly when credit constraints are absent. It utilizes the UK's institutional setting to identify such an effect. The key findings are as follows. (i) Increasing tuition fees does not have adverse effects on students as long as credit…

State and federal governments invest millions of dollars in providing accurate and relevant information on expected outcomes to students pursuing higher education, but whether such information targets what students value about college is unclear. We use new survey data to identify the extent to which conventional indicators for college quality and…

This paper introduces a new measure of the labor markets served by colleges and universities across the United States. About 50 percent of recent college graduates are living and working in the metro area nearest the institution they attended, with this figure climbing to 67 percent in-state. The geographic dispersion of alumni is more than twice…

This paper introduces a new measure of the labor markets served by colleges and universities across the United States. About 50% of recent college graduates are living and working in the metro area nearest the institution they attended, with this figure climbing to 67% in-state. The geographic dispersion of alumni is more than twice as great for…

Background: Previous research suggests that school exclusion during childhood is a precursor to social exclusion in adulthood. Past literature on the consequences of school exclusion is, however, scarce and mainly focused on short-term outcomes such as educational attainment, delinquency, and mental health in early adolescence. Moreover, this…

This dissertation consists of three chapters that study individual investment in human capital and the incidence of economic shocks. I use administrative data to answer these questions, developing and applying structural methods to analyze individual choices in combination with a careful consideration of research design. Chapter 1 studies the…

Educational researchers identify the transition from post-secondary education to the labour market as a critical point for the success of the student, and for society more broadly. This transition is often explored as a distinct phase between education and work that can be assessed based on pre-determined outcomes (i.e. employment, income). From…

The protracted COVID-19 pandemic has exerted considerable pressure on the employability landscape. Even when the global economy continues to recover gradually after the pandemic, many challenges remain, and it is too early to celebrate. This research adopts a mixed-method approach. A questionnaire survey (n = 151) and focus group interviews (n =…

Due to the current status of English as a lingua franca in numerous domains, increasing attention has been directed toward the economic potential of English. However, research on languages other than English from an economic perspective remains limited. This study aims to address this gap by examining the labor market demand for Japanese language…

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…

Since the mid 1990s vocational and education and training systems across Europe have had to respond to a number of external factors which have transformed the demand for skills. This paper examines the way in which VET systems have responded to the external factors and increase their resilience in the face of external shocks of one kind or…