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Against the backdrop of high-quality development of the national economy, the development of each city is also facing transformation and upgrading. Cities need high-quality development, and high-quality talents are the key. The problem of attracting high-quality talents in domestic small and medium-sized cities in high-quality development needs to be solved urgently. This paper takes Huai'an, a third-tier city in China, as an example, to understand the intentions and confusions of college students when they seek employment. The qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews is employed. The study finds that in small and medium-sized cities, factors hindering college students from staying in local cities for employment include that the intensity of the government in publicizing high-quality development has not reached to most college students, the guide courses in colleges and universities meet difficulties in the process of delivery, and college students' own career planning are not guided well. In response to the above problems, this paper puts forward suggestions such as strengthening the positive interaction between schools and college students, enhancing the publicity of high-quality urban development among college students, and closely integrating college students' career guidance courses with local development. Quality development attracts more high-quality talents.

Targeting output growth is among one of the prime concerns of any economy in both the developing and developed world. Energy utilization and exports are important drivers that would help in boosting production activities in any economy. Therefore, beyond labor force and capital formation, exports and energy utilization can be among the important inputs for accelerating economic growth in any economy. This research is conducted to investigate the linear impact of exports and the non-linear effect of energy consumption on economic growth considering the production function approach in the Spanish economy. After considering the bounds test for a period from 1980 to 2019, the study provides evidence of the inverted-U-shaped effect of energy consumption on economic growth. The findings also expose that exports, labor force and capital formation significantly accelerate economic growth in Spain. These findings are consistent with the diagnostics applied in the study. This research proposes that energy consumption should not be increased beyond a certain threshold for reaping the positive fruits of economic growth. Beyond that cutoff, it will become harmful to economic growth. Policy advisors may consider exports to target economic growth in Spain as it helps in expanding production activities in the Spanish economy., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Environmental regulations affect employment through productivity output and factor substitution. This paper employs a difference-in-differences (DID) method to investigate the effect of China's Two Control Zones (TCZ) policy on the urban employment in 287 cities from 1994 to 2009. We apply the DID method to two time points: 1998 for policy issuance and 2000 for the policy implementation. From the results of analyses on full-sample cities, the TCZ policy did not contribute to increasing total urban employment. Moreover, a negative impact on employment resulted from sulfur dioxide and acid rain controls in secondary and tertiary industries, respectively. In the acid rain control zone, the TCZ policy increased the average wage of urban workers. Negative effects on employment were observed in larger cities. The policy triggered labor migration from larger to smaller cities, resulting in significant increases in primary and tertiary industry employment in smaller cities, although the effects on mid-size cities were insignificant. This study provides important empirical evidence and insight into the impact of the TCZ policy on urban employment.

While some studies in Zimbabwe have examined the relevance of education in rural settings, very few have done so using a human development-oriented framework such as the capabilities approach, as this paper does. In linking education and human development, the capabilities approach facilitates an examination of intersecting individual contexts and educational processes, which influence perceptions, decision-making and outcomes. This paper uses Chakohwa village as a qualitative case study to question education's relevance in certain rural settings, especially in a developing country context. Data was collected through a focus group discussion and interviews with key respondents. Questioning the curriculum and the learning process, reveals how, if at all, education can be converted into a valued functioning and the conditions of possibilities in such contexts. The study also highlights the need for a minimum threshold of resources before education can be valued intrinsically and instrumentally, and the implications for human development.

The study conducted with proposition that development needs to be participatory including both men and women. Different scholars came up with different explanations by raising the question why gender gap in different sectors The objectives of this paper are to: Analyze some relevant theories of development related to the causes of gender equality considering from different point of view; scrutinize using empirical data on gender participation by education, employment, health and political representation in Ethiopia corresponding to theories development; pinpoint the challenges and obstacles of gender equality in different sector in Ethiopia, assess the legal and policy frameworks of the Ethiopian government on gender. Methodologically, this paper a brief review is made on theories of development that provide justification mainly on the significance of gender equality for development and clarify the determinants of gender equality in different sectors. This easy is written by considering these theories of development as a basis of analysis corresponding to the empirical data on the situation of gender and development; on the challenges in realizing gender equality in Ethiopia. Finally, conclusion and recommendation is made by considering how theories of development with respect to gender and development in Ethiopia underpin with empirical evidences in the country. To supplement the literature interview is conducted and the result of relevant interviewee is narrated as case study in some sections.

In light of a global higher education expansion, the paper analyses the historic-structural conditions of this development for the German state(s) after World War II. Building on Talcott Parsons citizenship patterns, the analysis centres on two core institutions of the German higher education system: the state-organized system of entitlement ("Berechtigungswesen") and the civil right for access to higher education. The entitlement system established a unique form of vertical and horizontal correspondence between higher education and the labour market. It allowed for a successful transition from university to work ("academization"). As a state monopoly, it also hampered rapid expansion. The civil right to access mediated and restricted efforts to constrain the expansion in Western Germany. Its absence in Eastern Germany lead to contractions after political will changed. A large part of the post-World War II expansion in Germany can be explained through the interplay of the two core institutions. The partial dismantling of the entitlement system after 1998, has led to severe degree differentiation and change. Yet so far, employment fields still consistently adapt to the credential pressure from the expanding public research university.

The Irish Economy is at an interesting and dynamic phase of its development and people are faced with major decisions that will impact on the Irish society for many years to come. These decisions are and must be made by all who are in a position to influence. Economic evolution or revolution is not new and is most certainly not new to these shores. The Irish Economy has undergone a number of significant evolutions and revolutions since the 1950s. In the 1990s people started to see the emergence of the "knowledge economy" and the "Dot Com" companies. The Iona Technology Organisation comes to mind, along with the Intels of this world. In the first decade of this millennium people have been introduced to a new phenomenon--the Service Economy. While people can debate the time of the various evolutions and the impact of each, they need to accept that this evolution is part of the changing Irish Economy. In this article, the author discusses the debate about the impact of the changing Irish Economy and what can be done to influence the impact of the changes that are thrust upon by the evolution. The author offers some suggestions to open the debate.

Introduction: Existing studies have focused on the impact of economic development and urban expansion on public healthcare environment but has ignored the importance of regional integration. Regional integration reflects the spatial distribution of the labor force, which significantly affects healthcare workforce and healthcare infrastructure development., Methods: Based on panel nested data for 137 cities in 16 major city clusters in China from 2001 to 2019, this paper assesses the impact of regional integration on the public healthcare environment through a hierarchical linear model (HLM)., Results: Our findings indicate that a 1% increase in regional integration leads to a 6.6 and 1.9% improvement in healthcare workforce and healthcare infrastructure. The results of the mechanism analysis indicate that regional integration affects the public healthcare environment through improving transportation infrastructure and industrial upgrading. In addition, regional integration has a stronger effect on cities with lower levels of economic development and healthcare environments. Finally, the endogeneity test based on the difference-in-difference (DID) model and the robustness test based on high-dimensional fixed effects model conduct the consistent conclusions., Discussion: Policies to improve the public healthcare environment through promoting regional integration are proposed. Government should develop a more comprehensive regional cooperation plan to improve the public healthcare environment. Also, financial spending on improving the healthcare environment in peripheral cities should be increased. In addition, regional integration policy development needs to consider differences across regions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Tu, Zeng, Long, Yu, Tan, Zhou and Zang.)

Global communication, international workflow, and connected learning are converging to realign power, wealth, and work. As Friedman (2006) explained, many forces are coming together to cause a flattening or leveling effect of the world's workforce. This has allowed many skilled workers from emerging nations to enter the workplace and compete for jobs that were traditionally held by only a few wealthy industrial nations. Although the playing field is being leveled for some occupations, Florida (2005) convincingly argues that the international economic landscape is becoming spiky with innovations being concentrated in a few urban centers. These urban centers provide the new creative class with ecosystems that enable their prosperity. Innovations are improved and brought to market more quickly in settings where talented people collocate (Florida 2005). It is vital that graduates enter the workforce prepared to orchestrate globally distributed work using computer-based communication systems and know how to engage creatively in collocated activities. Despite these demands on our graduates, many university computer laboratories are sociofugal environments (environments that discourage social interaction), fostering the individual consumption of information versus collaboration. This paper examines the college computer lab as an ecological system that may impede transference of critical 21st century sociocutural norms and workplace skills.

This paper examines the origins of developmental education and explores the way developmental education is administered at selected colleges in Arkansas. Finally, the paper focuses on a model Career Pathways Initiative program at University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton. Career Pathways invigorates partnerships between colleges and workforce and economic development to meet the needs of employers as more and more industries struggle to find qualified workers. A large number of the community college's targeted population have the ability but lack the skills to meet employers' needs for the 21st century. Career Pathways programs pull together the resources needed to serve individuals, business, and industry. Career Pathways is a means of delivering extensive developmental programming in an efficient manner. Career Pathways promotes the development of an enhanced workforce by tapping into a population that has previously been overlooked: low income, low skilled, unemployed, underemployed, single parent, or incumbent workers needing to hone skills to keep up with the technological and educational changes in the workplace.

The adult basic education field in the United States is now being encouraged to shift to a "career pathways" orientation by policy research organizations, federal and state agencies, community college organizations, business groups, and private foundations. In such an approach, adult basic education programs work with workforce development ("One Stop") agencies, economic development initiatives, employers, labor unions, and social service agencies to organize the various entities into well-coordinated systems. These systems are meant to make it easier for lower-skilled adults and out-of-school youth to advance their education and careers as well as to provide employers with well-prepared and well-supported workers. Developing and sustaining career pathway systems requires particular kinds of partnership and curriculum development skills. Adult educators who are open to getting involved in career pathway initiatives should proceed in a smart way. In this article, the author outlines the steps they can take to (a) build on previous related work in adult education and other fields; (b) help lower-skilled adults be both productive and empowered workers; and (c) strengthen adult basic education as a profession.

Against a backdrop of some two decades of sustained economic growth in Ghana, this paper argues that there are a series of sustainability challenges related to technical and vocational skills development (TVSD) that need to be addressed. This paper analyses several sustainability dimensions of TVSD related to: promoting the sustainability of education-for-all achievements through expanding post-basic education and TVSD; identifying sustainable financing mechanisms for an expansion of TVSD; promoting and sustaining equitable access; ensuring that expansion in quantity does not lead to a compromise on the achievement and sustainability of quality and relevance issues; promoting the sustainability of TVSD expansion by widening opportunities for lifelong learning; creating an enabling environment for skills utilization through sustainable employment growth.

Microsimulation attempts to describe economic and social events by modelling the behaviour of individual agents. These models have proved useful in evaluating the impact of policy changes at the micro level. Spatial microsimulation models contain geographic information and allow for a regional or local approach to policy analysis. This paper builds on previous work on urban systems by employing similar modelling techniques for the analysis of rural areas [Birkin, M., Clarke, M., 1988. SYNTHESIS--a synthetic spatial information system for urban and regional analysis: methods and examples. Environment and Planning A 20, 1645-1671; Ballas, D. et al., 1999. Exploring microsimulation methodologies for the estimation of household attributes. The Fourth International Conference on GeoComputation, 25-28 July 1999, Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA (paper presentation); Ballas, D, Clarke, G. P., 2000. GIS and microsimulation for local labour market policy analysis. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems 24, 305-330; Ballas, D., Clarke, G. P., 2001a. Modelling the local impacts of national social policies: a spatial microsimulation approach. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 19, 587-606; Ballas, D., Clarke, G. P., 2001b. Towards local implications of major job transformations in the city: a spatial microsimulation approach. Geographical Analysis 33, 291-311]. It describes the development of the simulation model for the Irish local economy (SMILE) model. SMILE is a static and dynamic spatial microsimulation designed to analyse the impact of policy change and economic development on rural areas in Ireland. This paper focuses on the static model. First, we describe the European and Irish policy environment and indicate the importance of building spatial models to analyse change in rural Ireland. Second, we review existing literature on regional and local modelling techniques and the use of spatial models as tools for policy analysis. Third, we describe the SMILE static model. The model generates synthetic spatially referenced population for the Irish Republic at the small area level--the population micro data is produced for district electoral divisions (DEDs). Finally, we show how data from other sources can be linked to the static model output. We link data from the Irish National Farm Survey on farm system, income and off-farm employment of operator to the SMILE static model. We use this example to show its potential as a tool for policy analysis.

This article explores the origins of an identified cognitive disconnect between Bermudians and the International (Re)Insurance Centre after the latter's establishment in 1993. Quantitative analysis is used to map the relationship between employment and capital growth. It shows that capital growth is not a sufficient cause of employment growth. The way in which capital is deployed seems to determine the relationship. This article follows the sudden and unexpected change in capital deployment beginning in 1993. This change saw rapid capital growth in Bermuda, paired with employment growth. This period closed in 2009, and now appears exceptional. This paper suggests that considering the employment-capital relationship over time allows for an understanding of the cognitive disconnect as an unfortunate but unintended consequence.

Mounting evidence across different disciplines suggests that early-life conditions can have consequences on individual outcomes throughout the life cycle. Relative to other developed countries, the United States fares poorly on standard indicators of early-life health, and this disadvantage may have profound consequences not only for population well-being, but also for economic growth and competitiveness in a global economy. In this paper, we first discuss the research on the strength of the link between early-life health and adult outcomes, and then provide an evidence-based review of the effectiveness of existing U.S. policies targeting the early-life environment. We conclude that there is a robust and economically meaningful relationship between early-life conditions and well-being throughout the life cycle, as measured by adult health, educational attainment, labor market attachment, and other indicators of socioeconomic status. However, there is some variation in the degree to which current policies in the United States are effective in improving early-life conditions. Among existing programs, some of the most effective are the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), home visiting with nurse practitioners, and high-quality, center-based early-childhood care and education. In contrast, the evidence on other policies such as prenatal care and family leave is more mixed and limited.

This paper examines the determinants of economic performance of 149 English rural Local Authority Districts (LADs). A Three Stage Least Square (3SLS) estimation procedure was employed to jointly determine the influence of a wide range of indicators representing economic, human, cultural and environmental capital, as well as less tangible or "soft" factors on three distinct components of economic performance: "productivity", "employment" and "labor market participation". The results reveal that a range of facets of economic and human capital, including the three key drivers of productivity ("skills", "investment" and "enterprise"), spatial factors ("peripherality" and "accessibility"), and other key factors ("economic structure", "government infrastructure", "road infrastructure", and "occupational health"), are significant determinants of economic performance in rural areas. This study is of value since it proposes a method for modelling the determinants of economic performance which is transferable to other environments in the UK and beyond. In addition, it proposes a set of benchmarks of economic performance using readily available data, and highlights some implications for rural policy and several avenues for future research. (Contains 4 tables.)

This paper examines the relationship between the incentives to work and to invest in human capital through education in a lifecycle optimizing model. These incentives are shown to be mutually reinforcing in a simple stylized model. This theoretical prediction is investigated empirically using three large micro datasets covering a broad range of countries. As one might expect, education and work are strongly positively correlated. This correlation has important implications for models of fiscal policy and economic growth. It also has important implications for the estimation of labor supply and the rate of return to education. (Contains 29 notes, 6 figures, and 10 tables.)

This paper examines how sustainable development can be defined and some of the contradictions involved with the concept. The policy implications of sustainable development are examined, with a particular emphasis on industry and employment. (LZ/Author)

While environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, many countries are adopting policies to control pollution. At the same time, the environmental regulation will inevitably affect economic and social development, especially employment growth. The environmental regulation will not only affect the scale of employment directly, but it will also have indirect effects by stimulating upgrades in the industrial structure and in technological innovation. This paper examines the impact of environmental regulation on employment, using a mediating model based on the data from five typical resource-based provinces in China from 2000 to 2015. The estimation is performed based on the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimator. The results show that the implementation of environmental regulation in resource-based areas has both a direct effect and a mediating effect on employment. These findings provide policy implications for these resource-based areas to promote the coordinating development between the environment and employment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Using the difference-in-differences method, we examine the impact of environmental regulation on individual health, employment, income, and welfare. We find that environmental regulation significantly improves health, but reduces employment and wage levels, although the effect on income is not statistically significant. The impact of environmental regulation is heterogeneous at different stages of economic development, and the high-age and the less educated are the main gainers and bearers of health benefits and economic costs. The welfare effect suggests that the welfare gains from improved health due to environmental regulation effectively compensate for the welfare losses from reduced employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that the application of social policy in the North East of England is often characterised by tension and conflict. The agencies and professionals charged with implementation of Westminster driven policies constantly seek to deploy their knowledge of local conditions in order to make them both practical and palatable.Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the region via established literature from history, geography, sociology and social policy. The paper gives illustrations via empirical work which has evaluated initiatives to improve the health of long term health-related benefit recipients and to sustain individuals in employment in the region.Findings Central to the paper’s argument is the notion of “biographies of place”. The core of this idea is that places have biographies in the same way as individuals and possess specific identities. These biographies have been shaped by the intersections between environment, history, culture and economic and social policy. The paper identifies the region’s economic development, subsequent decline and the alliance of labour politics and industrial employers around a common consensus that sought economic prosperity and social progress via a vision of “modernisation” as a key component of this biography.Originality/value The paper argues that an appreciation of these spatial biographies can result in innovative and more effective social policy interventions with the potential to address issues that affect entire localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into account recent literature on economic growth, we focus on analyzing the extent to which metropolitan regions (NUTS3 urban predominant regions), as growth poles, especially from Romania and from EU member states and regions with similar levels of development, contribute to economic growth, from the perspective of employment-related issues. We place our analysis in the context of Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and of the urban dimension of the EU regional policies. The variables included refer to labor market indicators, in conjunction with demographic data, from Eurostat, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the contribution of growth poles to the overall development of country, in comparison with the capital region, the national average and EU27 average. The selection of growth poles from countries with similar levels of development as Romania is based on previous research results of cluster analysis for year 2010, conducted using headline indicators of Europe 2020 strategy and GDP per head, for country level, and cohesion policy indicators, for NUTS2 regional level, looking for possible overlaps of the country and regional clustering that include Romanian regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the experience of addressing the gender issue in countries formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the national and historical characteristics of all independent states are markedly different, the purpose of the paper is to study the challenges that women had to face, to identify the positive experience of the decision in each case as well as to identify the general trends of such decisions. On the basis of statistical data published by the competent authorities of both the independent states themselves and the Economic Commission for Europe, an analysis was made of such key parameters of equality as employment, average wages, level of access to information, the relative number of representatives in leadership positions in state institutions and representative offices in national parliaments, as well as the general trend of legislative initiatives designed to combat discrimination against women. As a result of the analysis of the dynamics of indicators, the leading states in solving the gender issue were identified, and an assessment was made of the development of this area in the future. This analysis led to the conclusion that the transition of women’s rights issues to the plane of public discourse, the absence of silence concerning the problem, as well as the observance of voting rights are a guarantee of a significant reduction in the level of discrimination in society. The practical significance of the research lies in identifying the leading countries where the gender issue has been resolved positively, as well as formulating recommendations based on their experience for countries where the gender balance is still not respected, which will lead to a general strengthening of the protection of women’s rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of high-quality development of the national economy, the development of each city is also facing transformation and upgrading. Cities need high-quality development, and high-quality talents are the key. The problem of attracting high-quality talents in domestic small and medium-sized cities in high-quality development needs to be solved urgently. This paper takes Huai'an, a third-tier city in China, as an example, to understand the intentions and confusions of college students when they seek employment. The qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews is employed. The study finds that in small and mediumsized cities, factors hindering college students from staying in local cities for employment include that the intensity of the government in publicizing high-quality development has not reached to most college students, the guide courses in colleges and universities meet difficulties in the process of delivery, and college students' own career planning are not guided well. In response to the above problems, this paper puts forward suggestions such as strengthening the positive interaction between schools and college students, enhancing the publicity of high-quality urban development among college students, and closely integrating college students' career guidance courses with local development. Quality development attracts more high-quality talents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]