This document presents the 50th semiannual report on the activities and accomplishments of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Education (Department). During this reporting period, the OIG issued 123 audits, inspection reports and memoranda, and closed 95 investigations. As detailed in this report, this office continues to…

A combined outreach and research initiative addressed the participation of Native American business owners in electronic commerce. E-commerce can provide many benefits to producers and consumers but does not ensure unmitigated economic success. It is only one part of a development process leading to achievement of tribes' broader social goals,…

A good framework for investment in innovation can contribute to increasing Chile's growth potential. Spending on R&D is currently low in relation to GDP and heavily reliant on government financing. Innovation activity in the business sector is also limited by insufficient seed and venture capital and human capital constraints. This is despite…

A review of human investment in education considers the pivotal human capital theory in relation to complementary, replacement, and opposing hypotheses and the interrelationship of workers, education, and workplace production. Analysis of definitions of human capital concludes that it is the marketable value of an individual that additional…

This report reviews progress in implementation of the World Bank's poverty reduction strategy during fiscal 1996-97. Chapter 1, "The World Bank's Poverty Reduction Strategy and Future Directions," outlines elements in the poverty reduction strategy: policies to promote broad-based labor-demanding growth and increase the productivity and…

According to U.S. Census statistics, for every step up in educational attainment, there is an increase in average income. The mean income for those with an associate's degree, $21,116 per year, is five percent more than a person with some college, and 40% more ($6,050), than a person with only a high school diploma or equivalent. The basic cost of…

Despite increased government investments in education, West Virginia continues to have one of the nation's highest high school dropout rates and is among the states with the highest unemployment rates. Human capital theory provides the conceptual basis for evaluating the relationship between investment in education and economic development. An…

Chile has an outstanding record in reducing poverty, having cut the poverty rate in half in the 11 years ended 1998. Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept, including both income and access to social services and education, as well as such intangibles as empowerment and social capital. This study presents a quantitative assessment of…

This article reviews the contributions and limitations of economic analyses of resource allocation policies aimed at improving teacher quality. Two analytic frameworks taken from the study of the economics of education are employed: productivity theory and human capital theory. The article first summarizes results of various economic analyses of…

The Zambian government, beset by deep and seemingly insoluble problems within the education sector, in 1976 initiated a radical and highly imaginative reform of the entire educational system. By 1978, however, this effort had to all intents and purposes petered out--the reform effort having never moved beyond the drafting board. (Author/BRR)

In the light of the current debate over liberal arts education v vocational training, the author compares the rates of return of a college education and a technical or occupational education and discusses the advantages of a college degree for adult students. (SK)

Human capital theory indicates that receipt of on-the-job training is positively related to expectations of future labor force participation. Young women may underestimate their future labor force attachment and therefore underinvest in on-the-job training. (JOW)

Examines linkages between adult continuing education and rural economic development strategies. Categorizes educational program responses to human capital investment needs of adults, and indicates the economic impact in rural areas of such responses. Discusses social roles as a motivator for educational participation. Contains 29 references. (SV)

Examines the condition of human resources in the rural South, particularly educational attainment, outmigration, illiteracy, and quality of rural schools. Discusses strategies for the development of human resources in the 1990s involving local, state, and federal governments and the role of rural sociologists. Contains 40 references. (Author/SV)

Uses human capital theory to support the role of community colleges in economic development, indicating that improving job skills and preparing students for employment are economic development activities and within the college mission. Firm-specific training should not be college subsidized unless part of an economic development strategy. (DMM)