Large household surveys are used to analyze links between schooling inequality and earnings inequality in Brazil and South Africa, countries that have long had among the highest levels of income inequality in the world. The studies were the 1995 South African October Household Survey (32,000 households) and the 1995 Brazilian Pesquisa Nacional de…

Examines the concept of human capital as an economic construct. Suggests that human capital contributes to economic development, as do physical capital or natural resources, in that its development reinforces individuals' future economic output. Suggests that this perspective may prove useful for human service professionals because funding…

Using census data relating to secondary school completers in Israel, alternative explanations are examined for the well-documented positive relation between education and earnings. Results suggest that educational certification may exert an independent, positive influence on earnings over and above the investment effect of human capital. Includes…

There is widespread discussion in OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries regarding the need to improve educational quality. Education is not an assembly-line process of mechanically increasing inputs and raising productivity. Educational quality concerns raise fundamental questions about societal aims, the nature of…

National development, a worldwide rationale of mass schooling systems, is both economic and social-integrative and supports the human capital paradigm. The social-integrative objective fosters membership in modern systems of state and money exchange that pull people away from traditional ethnic, cultural, regional, or religious allegiances. This…

This brief focuses on the potential role that strategic communications can play in helping state (Maternal Child Health) MCH programs and their collaborating partners frame their message to enhance the public's understanding of the importance of early child development and the need for a comprehensive and integrated early childhood system. The…

Introduces a collection of articles that illustrate lessons learned from global issues in education and focus on four categories: finance and administration, the role of policy and research, human capital and social cohesion (outcomes of schooling), and multilateral development banks and religious organizations. (SM)

Reviews public education in the United States during the 20th century through an exploration of the "virtues" of mass education, such as public funding, a practical curriculum, and secular control of schools. Argues that many of these virtues were situational and may now be considered vices. (Contains three graphs.) (WFA)

Identifies market and nonmarket returns to education over graduates' life cycle, as well as social benefit externalities. Considers most recent developments in measuring and evaluating these returns, relating them to costs. The capacity to finance lifelong learning depends on identification and measurement capacity and political processes. (149…

Corporate universities have developed a variety of useful and creative methods for mission-specific evaluation. (Contains 3 figures.)

Recently, increasing attention has become focused on the inadequacy of the American high school experience for adequately preparing individuals for the jobs of the future as well as for life more generally. This inadequate preparation is explored primarily through the findings from the twelfth grade portion of the Third International Mathematics…

We report the results of an experiment designed to elicit students' subjective beliefs about the economic returns to college education. An important feature of our experimental design is the inclusion of financial incentives for accurate reporting. We also consider the extent to which individuals' beliefs about their own returns differ from their…

New England colleges and universities impact their local and regional economies in many ways. They are often major employers and purchasers. They construct new facilities, attract visitors, provide cultural and intellectual enrichment for the community and boost property values. The knowledge produced by New England's higher education institutions…

Review of "Women, Education, and Development in Asia: Cross-National Perspectives" (Grace Mak, editor) and "Girls' Schooling, Women's Autonomy and Fertility Change in South Asia" (Roger Jeffery, Alaka Basu, editors) discusses the unpredictable impact of schooling on women, a critical gender-based perspective on human capital…

Education improves an individual's and a community's standard of living. In a time when education funding is insufficient for schools to meet high quality standards, principals are in a unique position to influence their community to fully support state and local school budgets. By using data to show education's positive influence on human capital…