Government policies that promote Year 12 completion are based on a recognition that, on average, the completion of senior secondary schooling leads to better labour market outcomes. Completing senior secondary schooling is not, however, for everyone, particularly not for those who are less academically inclined or who are unsuited to the…

This briefing examines training and development (T&D) in Quebec, one of 10 provinces and three territories that make up Canada. Quebec has three distinguishing characteristics that encourage analysis of its T&D separately from that of Canada as a whole. First, it is the only North American region with a majority francophone population.…

Slow economic growth since the end of the U.S. recession in June of 2009 has not yet translated into increases in employment large enough to meaningfully reduce the rate of unemployment. Because expansionary macroeconomic policy has been pursued on both the fiscal and monetary fronts, it appears at first glance that the hands of government at this…

How well do our education policies prepare America's youth for the labor market? What challenges limit our success, and what opportunities do we have for improvements? Can public policy play a greater role in encouraging more success? I consider these questions as they apply to the unique characteristics of metropolitan areas in the U.S. Most…

In Australia, the Excellence in Research (ERA) exercise, first conducted in 2008 and continuing relatively unchanged in 2012, determines the level of research funding made available to Australian universities. However, the use of journal rankings as part of ERA is argued to be problematic (Cooper & Poletti 2011). Through a survey of academics…

The authors use data from the Health and Retirement Study's Earnings Benefit File, which links Health and Retirement Study to Social Security Administration records, to estimate the impact of childhood health on earnings curves between the ages of 25 and 50 years. They also investigate the extent to which diminished educational attainment, earlier…

What directions should workforce policy in the U.S. take over the next few decades in light of major labor market developments that will likely occur--such as the retirements of baby boomers and continuing globalization? This new volume edited by Harry J. Holzer and Demetra Smith Nightingale presents fresh thoughts on the topic. This book offers…

In the United States, we tend to assume that young people should become educated and then go to work, as though the two were entirely separate stages of life. This dichotomy blinds us to the fact that work itself can be a powerful means of education-giving students opportunities to apply academic subject matter to real-world problems, and pushing…

For young people in the United States, whatever their backgrounds, one of the essential purposes of schooling should be to help them develop the knowledge, skills, and competence needed to search for and obtain work that they find at least reasonably satisfying. Our present educational system does precious little to introduce young people to the…

In the United States, we tend to assume that young people should become educated and then go to work, as though the two were entirely separate stages of life. This dichotomy blinds us to the fact that work itself can be a powerful means of education. Indeed, the workplace is where many young people become most engaged in learning high-level skills…

Strategies of "employability" and "activation" are increasingly favoured in the European Union policy context. These strategies are aimed at fostering inclusion by stressing the responsibility of the individual to participate in education and employment. Similar tendencies can be observed in the United Kingdom (UK) over the…

The school-to-work transition is a crucial life stage for young people, and research has often shown that this stage has important effects on their entire life courses. In recent years, young people willing to enter the labour market have been challenged by increasing uncertainty and comparatively high unemployment. These labour market trends have…

I review theories and evidence on wage-setting institutions and labor market policies in an international comparative context. These include collective bargaining, minimum wages, employment protection laws, unemployment insurance (UI), mandated parental leave, and active labor market policies (ALMPs). Since it is unlikely that an unregulated…

Researchers have been following a trend posited by the renowned anthropologist Janet Fitchen, which examines the increasing movement of low-income people to rural communities drawn not necessarily by labor market forces, but by the characteristics and amenities found in rural towns. This study adds to that literature by focusing on the ways in…

Most poor children achieve less, exhibit more problem behaviors and are less healthy than children reared in more affluent families. We look beyond correlations such as these to a recent set of studies that attempt to assess the causal impact of childhood poverty on adult well-being. We pay particular attention to the potentially harmful effects…