This study analyzes how worker pay is related to educational diversity, i.e., diversity in the educational composition of work groups in terms of the different types of vocational and academic education. As previous research shows that various types of diversity have positive effects in the workplace, a positive effect due to 'educational…

This paper builds a model of human capital accumulation driven by increasing specialization of the workforce. Individuals increase the efficiency of time dedicated to human capital acquisition by focusing investments on narrower sets of skills. The evolution of secondary and post-secondary curricula in the United States from 1870-2000 confirms the…

This paper analyses whether tertiary education of different types, i.e., academic or vocational tertiary education, leads to more or less favorable labor market outcomes. We study the problem for Switzerland, where more than two thirds of the workforce gain vocational secondary degrees and a substantial number go on to a vocational tertiary degree…

National Longitudinal Survey data were used to estimate the effects of specific high school curricula on wages and educational attainment. Return to additional academic courses was small, suggesting that the value of a year of high school cannot be accounted for by estimates of the value of courses taken. (SK)

Perhaps the most enduring belief about vocational education (VE) is that it is only for the noncollege bound, potential dropouts, or other special needs students. In reality, 80% of high school students take at least one occupationally specific vocational course, and one in eight academic students actually takes more vocational courses than…

The benefits of offering high school students career and technical education (CTE) in addition to training in basic academic skills and the cost-effectiveness of CTE were examined by reviewing available data on demand, supply, and results for CTE. The analysis confirmed that the market and demand for workers with only a high school education still…

ProTech is the Boston Public Schools' longest-standing and most developed school-to-career (STC) initiative. It is a collaboration of the Boston Public Schools, 75 employers, and the Boston Private Industry Council. ProTech combines rigorous academic instruction, a sequence of worksite learning experiences in seven major industrial clusters for…