Important changes characterize the recent evolution of the schooling of workers in Portugal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consequences of those changes in the gender wage gap. In particular, we analyze and compare the way that this process has evolved in the groups of young workers and older workers. Our findings suggest that…

When negotiating new teacher contracts, most districts, no doubt, are focusing discussions on averting wage freezes and massive layoffs. But prudent districts--those looking for long-term solutions to budget problems as well as those seeking to more fairly compensate the most effective teachers--are reconsidering the traditional salary schedule,…

The relationship between educational attainment and economic outcomes is shaped by a variety of educational experiences, including field of training, length of time spent in school, and level of attainment. This report explores the relationship between educational attainment, field of training, and eventual occupation and earnings. The report also…

This report discusses the current state of higher education, with a brief high-level overview of the market and a more detailed discussion and analysis of the financial aid system. It also discusses the important changes President Obama has made to make higher education more accessible and affordable. The key findings are: (1) The economic returns…

This study provides the first nation-wide analysis of the labor market implications of occupational licensing for the U.S. labor market, using data from a specially designed Gallup survey. We find that in 2006, 29 percent of the workforce was required to hold an occupational license from a government agency, which is a higher percentage than that…

Merit pay initiatives transparently alter the teaching profession and goings-on within classrooms, and thereby promise to stoke the self-interests of the two most prominent stakeholders in public education: teachers and parents. This memo summarizes the authors' ongoing efforts to empirically evaluate the extent to which public debates about merit…

The general-equilibrium effects of performance-related teacher pay include long-term incentive and teacher-sorting mechanisms that usually elude experimental studies but are captured in cross-country comparisons. Combining country-level performance-pay measures with rich PISA-2003 international achievement microdata, this paper estimates…

Most analyses of teacher quality end without any assessment of the economic value of altered teacher quality. This paper combines information about teacher effectiveness with the economic impact of higher achievement. It begins with an overview of what is known about the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement, which provides…

This paper examines the effect of teacher relative wages and teacher wage dispersion on high school graduates' preferences for teaching majors in College. This approximation to teacher quality is appropriate in a country like Venezuela as opposed to the US since the rigidity of the tertiary school system significantly limits mobility between…

In this article, we consider how the economic return to a college education varies across members of the U.S. population. Based on principles of comparative advantage, scholars commonly presume that positive selection is at work, that is, individuals who are most likely to select into college also benefit most from college. Net of observed…

In this paper, youth workers's pay is compared with general wage growth and the wages of those undertaking similar work, and a case is made for pay parity to attract and keep competent workers in the youth sector. (Contains 3 notes.)

This paper uses an auto-ethnographic storytelling approach to connect an individual's experience in leadership with the literature on women in leadership as a way of further exposing and understanding gendered organisational practices. Whilst the paper details only one women's experience it was through the connection to the literature that most…

We assess the impact of the welfare state on cross-national variation in the gender wage gap. Earnings inequality between men and women is conceptualized as resulting from their different locations in the class hierarchy, combined with the severity of wage differentials between and within classes. This decomposition contributes to identifying…

This monograph is the culmination of a three-year research program undertaken by the University of South Australia's Centre for Work+Life. It considers the barriers, support and benefit of vocational education and training (VET) for workers in the low-paid occupations (that is, those earning around $17 per hour). The research considered a wide…

This brief presents the views of the members of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation on the provincial government's budget to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. It is a crucial time for public education in British Columbia and they take very seriously the chance to provide information and their perspective on…