An analysis of the economic returns of education in Australia finds a rising need for education at a time of diminishing apparent returns. It is proposed that the notions of credentialism and education as a positional good provide a better explanation for this phenomenon than does the human capital approach. (MSE)

President Clinton's human capital agenda emphasizes efforts to ensure the future strength of the United States economy by investing in education and training citizens. The paper describes the agenda and the legislation it shaped, focusing on K-12 reforms and the changing federal role in education. (Author/SM)

Investigates the relationship between geographic mobility and earnings of Hispanic-American and white men using the 1980 Public Use Sample from the U.S. Census. Economic returns to migration are negligible for both Hispanic-American men and white men. Among Hispanic Americans, the earnings determination process is roughly similar for movers and…

Skill is a social construct that assumes different meanings in particular historical circumstances. This paper explains how the dominant concept of skill has shifted in twentieth-century Australia from being job- and content-specific to a more generic view (embracing cognitive, technical, and operational, social, and affective skills) that…

Compares graduates of the formal vocational and technical education (VTE) system in the Ivory Coast with those of informal apprenticeships, regarding job access, earnings, and the internal rate of return to investment in education. Promoting informal VTE could increase society's returns to educational expenditures and assist the informal sector's…

Presents a study of the effect of question order on student performance on economics tests. Reports that question order has no statistically significant effect on examination scores, even after including variables that reflect differential human capital characteristics. Concludes that instructors need not worry that some examination versions give…

Argues that rural two-year colleges must go beyond traditional job training programs for business/industry to have a decisive impact on local economic development. Presents a comprehensive economic development model, including human capital development; economic development awareness; and business, special group, infrastructure, and agricultural…

Study of gender disparities in rank/salary of college faculty used causal model to examine variables commonly used in human capital and structural/functional perspectives that have guided most research on gender equity. More than 60 percent of total effect of gender on academic rank/salaries is indirect. Model's usefulness and implications for…

Discusses the state of education in Africa. Argues that programs must be modified according to the political, social, and economic conditions of each country. States that school enrollments have stagnated, and quality of education has declined, resulting in increased school failure and a low level of cognitive achievement. Discusses collaborative…

Americans' commitment to local control, expanded educational opportunities, and form over substance have made standards a hard sell. Education is becoming a private good to serve consumers' individual interests, not a public good serving broader public interests. A consumerist approach to standards stresses schools' sorting function. (MLH)

Considers human capital and economic organization perspectives in the analysis of patterns of employment and poverty among American Indians and Whites in Rosebud County, Montana. Uses an "embeddedness" approach involving ethnographic data and recent analyses of schooling to illuminate the role of local cultural knowledge and social…

Technology will not save us from scarce resource problems by creating "virtual schools." Technology is an expensive investment, adding value more than reducing costs. Social capital is the collateral necessary for human capital development. Our education system must consider its academic and cultural roles, not just provide foot soldiers…

Presents IV (instruments variables) estimates of returns to schooling for Honduran males by exploiting variation in schooling's availability at the time individuals were eligible to commence their education. IV estimates surpass ordinary least-squares estimates. Higher rate of return estimates are driven by greater schooling attainment and higher…

Twenty-first century conditions are adding new dimensions to the relationship between states and higher education.

Considers how qualitative research has enhanced knowledge of four topics in the sociology of education: (1) educational inequality, (2) socialization, (3) identity formation, and (4) school organization and educational policy. Argues that qualitative studies have introduced new voices, perspectives, and themes into traditional understanding. (CAJ)