Economic upheaval in Central and Eastern Europe has led to excessive labor supply, increased unemployment, and enforced economic inactivity. Economic policies promoting growth, efficiency, and education and training to improve the quality and adaptability of the workforce are needed. (SK)

This comparative study is intended to shed light on how vocational training is recognized and used as an instrument to mitigate the grave employment problems now facing all the countries of Europe. The three countries--Belgium, France, and Italy--are examined successively on the basis of a virtually identical approach. Each chapter begins with a…

Argues that current job-training policy in New York City is based on a false premise. Poor education is a serious problem, but the most important failure, the one on which economic policy must focus, is the failure of employers to provide an adequate number of jobs at living wages. (SLD)

Suggests that work training programs based on the concepts of democracy and entrepreneurship may facilitate improvements in employment opportunities for disadvantaged and minority youth. Attributes unemployment to deficiencies in the current economic and social structure, and discusses design and implementation problems in current employment…

Technological advances have created changes in working life. Automation displaces more workers than the service industry can absorb. The jobs that are left are often downgraded from the complexity they have formerly enjoyed. As society becomes more and more automated, unemployment becomes structural. How do we prepare young people for the jobs of…

The current recession in the Czech Republic is driven by aggregate demand, unsustainable growth of wages, weak enforcement of the legal system, non-operational bankruptcy law, and poor corporate governance. The wage dispersion has been growing continuously, and wage setting has become increasingly more responsive to market forces. Education has…

During the years 1989-1997 in Estonia, employment has decreased; unemployment and inactivity have increased. Females have tended to move to inactivity while males have become unemployed. The wage patterns are very flat relative to those in market economies. Estonia has opted for very low levels of unemployment benefits, pensions, and a low minimum…

Most deficiencies of the Hungarian labor market emerge from a combination of the transition crisis and special features of the economy or transition process. The most crucial labor market problem is low employment. Negative impacts are high taxation and social security contributions; reduced investment, job creation, and economic growth; and…

Transition to a market economy in Lithuania has changed the labor market significantly. The employment rate has decreased in all age groups and resulted in increased productivity of labor. Employment in the private sector and self employment have increased considerably. The share of those employed in agriculture has increased. The worst employment…

Romania's adoption of a more gradual approach in restructuring and privatizing the state-owned sector has resulted in industry with an unchanged structure that remains the main cause of social and economic decline. Employment has shown a steady decline. Industrial employment has decreased dramatically. Sectors like transport, hotels, and…

A study estimated the aggregate effects of antipoverty policies on wages and unemployment of different groups. The context was one in which emphasis was on labor supply policies, such as welfare reform or job training, and not on policies to increase labor demand for the poor, such as public employment or subsidizing private employers to hire the…

Nigeria's National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) is aimed at giving vocational skills to unemployed youth and helping them to be self-employed or get gainful employment. NOAS is targeted at Nigerian men and women aged 15-25. Minimum educational requirements vary by trade; course duration ranges from 2 months to 3 years. The number of trainees…

A factual and descriptive analysis of the employment situation in Bulgaria showed that the transition to a market economy has led to a substantial reduction of employment. The economic restructuring begun in 1990 has proved very difficult, and the privatization of the large industrial enterprises faces problems mainly due to insufficient interest…

The United States requires a coordinated, national approach to human resource development that will result in the establishment of priorities, detailed planning, and the full use of public and private resources backed by adequate state and federal funding. Problems of unemployment, underemployment, skilled worker shortages, national defense needs…

This research was designed to develop and test a model of the Air Force manpower market. The study indicates that previous manpower supply studies failed to account for simultaneous determination of enlistments and retentions and misinterpreted regressions as supply equations. They are, instead, reduced form equations resulting from joint…