Suchergebnisse

It is a widely held belief that labour market failure amongst young
people is heavily influenced by formal educational attainments. Few
British studies, however, have paid specific attention to the question
of what particular level of academic achievement is valued most highly
by the market within any period of time. This article queries the focus
of earlier research – explicitly concerned with education and
labour market fortune – which implicitly suggested that the
Certificate of Secondary Education was of prime importance in securing
employment for the youngest members of the labour force in recent years.
Moreover, it is demonstrated that omitting controls for influences
frequently held to be important determinants of educational attainment
generates upward bias in the estimated returns to education and thereby
inflates expectations as to the benefits likely to follow from even
seemingly radical reforms to the formal schooling system.

Die Autoren setzen sich mit dem Problem der Arbeitslosigkeit in Mittel- und Osteuropa unter regionalen Gesichtspunkten auseinander. Dabei gehen sie sowohl auf die Bedingungen unter kommunistischen Verhältnissen ein, als auch auf die Veränderungen im Transformationsprozeß. (IAB)

Unemployment continues to bedevil Poland, albeit with striking sub-national differences, which this paper seeks to explain using random effects error component two-stage estimation for the country's NUTS 4 level powiats. Given the economy's peculiar configuration under communism, with its large private agricultural sector, emphasis is placed on rural-urban differences. While less densely populated areas do suffer higher unemployment rates, the effect is moderated by hidden unemployment in farming. On the other hand, powiats that housed the ex-state farms suffer a negative long-term legacy. Other notable results include an evident positive impact of foreign capital on local labour market fortunes.

Lifelong learning is a long-standing European Union priority, with an emphasis on the need for it to be pursued by all, but particularly those at the risk of exclusion. This study explores participation in Portugal and the UK, countries at opposite ends of the European adult learning spectrum with markedly different contexts. Analysis reveals that universal penetration remains a challenge in both. Broadly speaking, in Portugal, the learning culture is some way from widespread adoption while, in the UK, predictable and steep educational/occupational hierarchies are evident. More detailed findings in both settings, however, belie some standard stereotypes.