Search

This paper assesses the impact on economic growth of increased efficiency of public spending in primary and lower-secondary education. Higher efficiency in public spending in schools can bolster growth through two main channels. On the one hand, it can allow a transfer of labour from the public sector to the business sector at unchanged educational output. On the other, it can enhance educational output and productivity of the future labour force at unchanged public employment and expenditures. The paper argues that, in most cases, efficiency gains might have larger effects on GDP in the long run if they are used to increase educational outputs rather than to reduce inputs. A 10% increase on educational output might raise GDP by, on average, 3% to 6% in the long run in most OECD countries, whereas using efficiency gains to transfer resources to the business sector might have an impact of less than 1% on GDP. However, some trade-off can appear in the short run because input-decreasing efficiency gains materialise more rapidly on growth than improvements in output-increasing efficiency. (A bibliography is included. Contains 12 footnotes, 3 figures and 2 tables.)

Markets or market-like mechanisms are playing an increasing role in higher education, with visible consequences both for the regulation of higher education systems as a whole, as well as for the governance mechanisms of individual institutions. This article traces the history of economists' views on the role of education, from Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Marshall, and Milton Friedman, to present-day debates about the relevance of market economies to higher education policy. Recent developments in higher education policy reflect both the rising strength of market mechanisms in higher education worldwide, and a certain ambivalence about these developments. The author argues that despite the peculiarities of the higher education sector, economic theory can be a very useful tool for the analysis of the current state of higher education systems and recent trends in higher education policy.

Traditionally characterized by a mixed human capital and human skills and resources model, the German education and training system has come under pressure from structural changes in economy and society. The emerging "new economy" is more than the sector of information technology industries. Beyond global action and rapid exchange of information, it is characterized by a new mode of economic activities in all economic sectors and is based on knowledge as the crucial production factor, on new forms of employment and new organization of work, and on new standards of quality of products and services. The "new economy" must be linked with a knowledge-based society. Against the background of continuous change, a new set of general, personal, and social competencies as complementary to specialized and technical qualifications seems to be needed. The old problem of equal chances in education and training is raised and must be revisited in the New Economy and knowledge-based society. A modern welfare state conception has to provide both promotion of the talented and special support for the disadvantaged. Lifelong learning has become a crucial prerequisite of the knowledge-based society. Facing the knowledge-based society, education and training policies in Europe more and more follow the emerging paradigm that stresses individual responsibility for one's educational career. (YLB)

This working paper is a product of a regional study in industrial South Wales of the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. Discussion begins with an examination of the way in which the official discourse of the learning society is dominated by a particular social theory of lifelong learning, called human capital theory. It demonstrates that human capital theory involves an unwarranted abstraction of economic behavior from social relations more widely, maintaining that participation in lifetime learning cannot be understood in terms of the narrow calculation of utility maximization. This critique provides the basis for the development of the lineaments of a theoretical account in which learning behavior is conceived as the product of individual calculation and active choice, but within parameters set by both access to learning opportunities and collective norms--parameters that vary systematically over space and time so that place and history must accordingly play a central role in any adequate theorization. The paper concludes that this kind of theoretical approach has important implications for empirical research and strategies aimed at creating a learning society. (Contains 49 references and 16 notes.) (YLB)

Teachers can approach U.S. history since 1945 in two time periods. The first is "Postwar America" (1945-1973), the playing out of the economic, cultural, social, cultural/intellectual, and foreign policy thrusts and attitudes that grew out of the Great Depression and World War II. The second era, "Recent America" (1973-present), comprises an erosion and reshaping of those earlier attitudes in a process whose full configuration remains incomplete. Postwar economics consisted of a consumer-led boom fueled by a generation of pent-up demand. Society and culture were related closely to and supportive of the economy. Contemporary politics continues to reflect the rhetoric of the New Deal and World War II, as does foreign policy. However, a meaningful historical divide occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Civil rights and cultural revolutions brought enormous social and cultural changes. Inflation, lower productivity, and higher unemployment altered the economy. Politics has become factionalized. U.S. foreign policy and economic relations with other nations have changed greatly. It is time to give students a fuller, more accurate sense of the emerging contours of the recent U.S. past: the past that perhaps means most to them. (SG)

We are witnessing an historic shift in our approach to employment policy that will have profound implications for vocational educators. This shift is most recognizable in the waning influence of demand-side economics and the ascendence of supply-side economics. Recent indications are that public policy is no longer firmly committed to maintaining full employment. The principles of Keynesian or demand-side economics (which assert an inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation) no longer seem valid in light of recent economic and political developments. Demand-side policies were built on the idea that the American economy was mature and has used its capacity for growth. In reality, America is on the edge of a technological revolution. Nevertheless, despite an abundance of work that needs doing, a shortage of jobs exists. Thus the need for entrepreneurship training is greater than ever. Recent studies and interest in small business seminars affirm this need. Studies on entrepreneurship education and its effectiveness are needed. In addition, the terms of employment must be redefined. (A series of questions and answers follows the text.) (MN)

Four papers discuss research exchanges between the United States and the USSR and East Europe. The first paper considers the evolution of perceptions of social scientists in these countries during the Cold War and Detente. The dominant view of American researchers during the Cold War was that the United States, as the most modern society, was the yardstick for measuring other societies. The United States experienced rapid growth of training and research related to the Soviet orbit. However, Soviet scholars were constrained by Marxist-Leninist doctrine and by educational and research policies. In the 1960s, American social scientists gained a greater appreciation for the complexities of modern societies and East European social scientists began innovative studies. The second paper discusses evaluations of research exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union. The conclusion is that these exchanges are scientifically valuable to both countries. The most serious problem is Soviet political repression of its scientific community. The third paper discusses problems and accomplishments of East European studies in the United States. Although progress seems to be steady, American social scientists have come to pursue topics that are politically safe, and thus often of secondary importance. The final paper suggests that in exchanges between the Soviet Union and the United States, both academic and government communities profit. The point that Soviet exchanges are generally in sciences and engineering and American exchanges are in history and literature illustrates that each side sends whom it wishes. Thus, the author concludes that this type of exchange is neither unbalanced nor unfair. (Author/KC)

The paper discusses major lines of research of American economists on the economies of the USSR and Eastern Europe. A specific concern is that the United States faces a complex set of issues resulting from the expanding role of these countries in the world economy. At the same time, the United States is experiencing a declining base of specialists in Soviet and East European economics. Presently, much of the work on the Soviet economy concerns three themes: how the system is organized and how it operates; efficiency evaluation in terms of goals or of hypothetical performance; and how the system performs relative to other Eastern and Western countries. One of the most successful projects is SOVMOD, a computer-based series of models of the Soviet economy. Academic exchanges, however, have played a relatively minor role in research development. The benefits of travel for the American economist are small. Documents are generally classified and Soviet economists are not encouraged to work with their American counterparts. Thus, the predominant form of exchange may become short stays by individuals or delegations and conferences. East European exchanges have been more promising, particularly in Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia. East European economists are more informed about Western approaches, and data are better and more plentiful. The document concludes with a brief comment by a conference participant who differs with the author on the benefits of research in the Soviet Union. (Author/KC)

Worldwide economic productivity is examined in this paper. There are seven major sections. Section 1 is an introduction which discusses how as the seventies came to a close without producing a strong and sustained recovery from global economic recession, the spotlight of public concern focused on the problem of productivity. Trends which have affected productivity are discussed and ways of measuring productivity are examined. Section 2 discusses why productivity is important. Higher productivity is a mechanism for improving the material quality of life. A rise in output per hour of work can finance increases in income, help restrain inflation, and enhance the competitiveness of products in the international market place. Structural shifts in the economy are the focus of the third section. For national economies, the major cause of higher productivity has been structural change, the wholesale movement of workers out of less productive sectors of the economy into more productive ones. The fourth section examines changing relationships among the factors of production. At the root of the current crisis in labor productivity is an abrupt change in the relative prices of the factors of production. Productivity and employment are the topic of section 5. The major impact of microelectronics on labor productivity and hence on jobs is examined. Section 6 discusses distributing the gains from higher productivity. Examined are the ideas of a guaranteed income, labor displacement because of automation, shorter work weeks, longer vacation time, and early retirement. The concluding section looks at "The Productivity Prospect." (RM)

The National Center on Education and Employment has taken on the task of challenging and rethinking the premises that underlie traditions of human capital development in this country. This task is summarized in the question, "Who should teach which work-related skills to whom, when, and how?" Its first priority is that the Center's primary audience is educational policymakers. Second, the Center concentrates on two of the most powerful human capital pressures on the economy--the need for worker adaptability or flexibility and the quality of the labor supply. Third, its primary objective is to spearhead a major restructuring of K-12 education. Fourth, in rethinking K-12 education, the Center challenges distinctions between work-related and general learning. Fifth, the Center questions distinctions made between at-risk and not-at-risk learners. Finally, the Center challenges the assumption that the nation's educational and training delivery systems--for example, schools, the military, the corporate training system, and public training programs--differ substantially in their pedagogic strategies. (YLB)

According to the document, Dr. Andrew Brimmer did an excellent job of identifying emerging economic concerns. Dr. Brimmer's characterization of economics as a tool kit can help young people examine important social questions using principles of economics as the tool for analysis. One way to build an economics tool kit is by placing more stress on the basic premises of economics. These premises can be thought of as a set of generalizations about economic behavior which students can use to analyze current concerns such as the economics of national health insurance or the economics of pricing natural resources. The tool kit should provide students with answers to their questions. Three values derived from the discipline of economics might be worthy of inclusion in a citizenship education program. These values are as follows: (1) individuals are responsible for their own actions; (2) private property builds freedom and personal responsibility; and (3) people should not impose unwanted costs on others. Conference participants were asked to examine the papers presented and identify examples of how the ideas could translate into good teaching or be developed into sound instructional material. More specific examples are needed to help translate these powerful new ideas into meaningful classroom instruction. (GEA)

One of the major issues currently facing the United States is the impact of the emerging high-technology economy. Some experts suggest that the economy will require great numbers of very highly educated persons to fill the new high-technology jobs. Others, such as researchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), predict that few highly trained people will actually be needed in a high-technology economy, because, while high-technology jobs will grow by high percentages, the actual numbers of new jobs will be small. The BLS instead expects the economy to require many more low-skilled jobs, such as clerks, waiters/waitresses, secretaries, and retail sales personnel, to work in an increasingly service-oriented economy. However, the BLS's predictions are based on the assumption that the future economy will be similar to the present one, a premise that may not hold true. For example, the BLS expects that many more retail sales persons will be needed, but an upsurge of catalog shopping, and possibly computer shopping, may well cut the number of sales persons needed. On the other hand, the emerging high-technology economy may change some formerly low-skilled jobs to jobs requiring a much higher level of knowledge and skills. For example, the job of secretary has been upgraded substantially by the addition of word processing equipment and computers to offices. With this equipment, fewer secretaries may be needed, but they will fill much more complicated jobs. Therefore, the work force of the future high-technology society may, indeed, need greater levels of education and higher-level skills, and the education establishment must prepare for this necessity. (KC)

Global inflation should be viewed more as a sympton of social problems than as an economic disease that can be cured by monetary and fiscal policy. Social problems signaled by inflation include exploding demand, rising costs for essential commodities, stagnating productivity, and a decline in the real standard of living. Inflation is interpreted as an increase in the overall level of nominal prices in the whole economy. It is significant to note, however, that crucial determinants of well being are often more closely related to prices of particular goods and services than to changes in the general price level. Circumstances which have contributed to global inflation include rising energy prices, increased government spending, increased money supplies, and lack of wage and price controls in capitalist nations. New sources of higher prices include increasing energy and food production costs, depleted resources, and a dearth of tillable land. Governments will make progress toward controlling global inflation if they aim economic policies toward increasing supply and reducing demand, stabilizing population, encouraging conservation and recycling, changing working conditions to boost productivity, increasing opportunities for competition, and striving to provide for basic human needs in a setting of economic stability. (DB)

A combination of revitalized employment policies, greater industrial democracy, and new ways of distributing both the hours of work and the fruits of technological change are essential if the benefits of the microelectronic revolution are to be equitably shared. Microelectronic technology promises an array of benefits, and the electronic age is already well under way. As it progresses during the last two decades of the twentieth century, it will lead to improvements in productivity in factories and offices, changes in the way information is processed, stored, and communicated, and alterations in the content of many jobs. Differing rates of development of the electronics industry may lead to shifting advantages of competition in the international marketplace. Like all major technological changes, the transition to microelectronics will raise difficult political issues, among which the impact on jobs and employment is the most prominent. (KC)

The way resources are deployed to educate Americans will affect, as never before, productivity, the economy, and the quality of life. To maintain the present standard of living, Americans will be dependent on a continuous infusion of scientific breakthroughs and productivity-enhancing technology. Periodic upgrading of skills will be a necessity for more and more workers. Of the three types of post-high school education--liberal, professional, and vocational--the most pressing need exists for more vocational education leading directly to employment opportunities. Unemployment figures show that many Americans need and wish to be taught how to earn their living in a more technological and changing world. Retraining obsolete workers is a subsection in vocational education that requires more attention. Economic necessity and individual motivation will encourage more women to return to school to prepare for more challenging, higher salaried ppositions. Although jobs in the service sector are expanding, long-term economic growth and vitality will only be possible if Americans work to maintain their advantage over the global competition in expertise. American workers will have to be better educated and trained. Increased investments in vocational education as well as professional education can help to accomplish this, especially if American industry plays a more actively supportive role in the educational system. (Questions and answers are appended.) (YLB)

Problems of the American economy can be eased by developing a national economic policy based upon human resource development and training. Ten observations on economics can be made as they relate to human resource development and the role of two-year institutions in that area. The poor national economic performance is connected to continued use of worn-out economic policies. People must be encouraged to be trained, not because they are poor, but because they are untapped human resources. More research is needed in the area of how to encourage greater investment in human resource development. Employment growth, currently concentrated in the service sector, must be shifted. Specific steps should be taken to alleviate the discrepancy between high unemployment and skilled worker shortages. The cycle must be completed from new technology to reduced prices to higher quality in order to regain a competitive edge in the world market. New thinking about vocational education and vocational needs is required. Postsecondary institutions need to prepare to serve new types of students--adults with prior life experiences and work history. Urban extension programs are needed to address unique city problems. Finally, a national human resource development policy needs to be implemented through community and technical colleges. (Questions and answers are appended.) (YLB)

Between 1940 and 1980, Mexico and other Caribbean nations grew by an annual average of three percent, doubling in population every 21 years. Mexico's population will reach 109 million and the Caribbean nations will top 250 million by 2000. The projected U.S. population in 2000 is 266 million. This dynamic growth has serious implications for Mexico and the Caribbean states' stability, economic health, employment, urban quality of life, emigration, and for increased U.S. immigration, which since the 1960s has grown to 160,000 annually. For the next three decades, job seekers in Mexico and other Caribbean countries will crowd into the labor market faster than the region's developing economics can absorb them. There is a need for these countries to create together over two million new jobs each year, if they are to reduce unemployment and underemployment to the levels of most Western countries by 2000. Tables and figures are included. (JHP)

This document focuses on the need for public schools in the United States to develop the capacity of individuals to participate successfully in the nation's economy. An introduction discusses the impact of schools on the American economy and the effects of the economy on education. Section 2 lists objectives to which the American education system must be rededicated in order to improve economic growth and development through workers. Section 3 presents those activities that state departments of education must undertake to develop the capacity of individuals to participate successfully in the nation's economy. In section 4 recommendations for improving education and thereby economic development are directed at a variety of organizations and agencies, including the Council of Chief State School Officers, state education agencies, local education agencies, business/industry and labor, the U.S. Department of Education, and higher education. Section 5 provides the Council of Chief State School Officers' policy statement on education and economic development. (YLB)

In England, vocational education and training (VET) does not exist as an institutionalized system as in Europe, where specialist institutions are tied to vocational qualifications, the labor market, and long-term objectives. Education has purposes other than to provide a skilled work force for the economy. However, the relationship between education and the economy remains vital because economies depend on individuals' ability to transform new knowledge into the innovations that generate new businesses and new jobs. Education for economic purposes must provide for increased productivity; deal with new technology and new skills; show how to exploit technology and knowledge; and provide training for innovation, evolution, and changing know-how. Vocational training providers must be viewed as informed providers with their own intelligent analysis of labor markets, skills development, and economic trends in their area. The state's role in reforming VET should be more strategic than tactical; it should set the framework. The new framework that the government is proposing for VET is an opportunity to contemplate expert, modern, front-line skills delivery by providers whose core business is learning and work, providing the just-in-time skills solutions for businesses facing intense and shifting pressures. (The complete transcript of this speech is included.) (MN)

Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction has outlined a business education program that includes training in information technology (IT) in grades K-4 and training in IT and management in grades 5-8. In grades 9-12, Wisconsin students receive training in IT, management, and financial services. Students in grades 9-12 also have opportunities to participate in work- and school-based learning programs, including cooperative business education, employability skills training, youth apprenticeships, and specialty certification courses. The following are among the beliefs held by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction with respect to business education: (1) IT is an important part of the entire educational process for all age levels; (2) students need financial knowledge to ensure that they make the best decisions both personally and professionally; (3) comprehensive business programs must have occupational preparation components; (5) business education's mission is to teach students about business and prepare them for careers in business; (6) students need to explore careers and develop business skills necessary to make meaningful decisions in a variety of business careers; (7) aligning the K-12 business curriculum within districts is critical to the advancement of students' business skills and knowledge; and (8) active involvement of advisory committees in business education is important. (MN)

Each year, the Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education develops statements regarding business education. The following are among the commission's guidelines regarding planning the business education curriculum for the new century: (1) making business education an integral and equal partner within schools' educational communities requires that business educators proactively respond to industry needs and connect with changing student learning styles; (2) preparing students for emerging careers in e-commerce and other job clusters requires helping them develop both business knowledge/skills and people skills; (3) business educators must teach soft skills by modeling behavior, establishing the classroom culture, and interacting daily with students in a project-based environment; (4) at all educational levels, business educators must transform classrooms into virtual enterprises and help learners apply their learning "just-in-time" for the business's daily operation. (The following attachments constitute approximately 80% of this document: sample scope and sequence for business education courses; a sample philosophy and general goals for graduates; rationales and descriptions of 22 business education courses; information about the Missouri business education competencies; and an overview of integration and articulation that lists five integration models along with the benefits and challenges of integration and guidelines for articulating business education.) (MN)

As the Chinese economy opens up to the outside world, the decision to engage in joint ventures with foreign capital is among the most important national policies. Significant direct consequences of joint ventures are the influx of foreign capital, expanding exports, and employment creation. However, the great importance of joint ventures lies in their indirect effects, such as the modernization of production processes, backward linkages in quality control and modern industrial standards, management, and training. The economic results have been very favorable. Disincentives to foreign investors are excessive complications and other barriers in dealing with the government, cultural distances, and language barriers. In addition, the Chinese have imported the competitive model of poaching the best workers but not the protections against some of the model's shortcomings for training. The Chinese can learn from the problems of training policies in Western countries, including the chronic problems of school-based training that results in mismatches between training and needs and the reluctance to commit resources to training. Discussion regarding training policy should touch upon legislation reestablishing a minimum level of expenditures on training, tax rebate policies to encourage those expenditures, and reestablishment of the apprenticeship system. (YLB)

Relations between the United States and China are discussed, and future policy recommendations are made. There are eight major sections. Section I contains an introduction. Section II examines common interests of the United States and its friends and allies. The third section deals with the evolution of relations between the United States and China. The recent background is described. Evolution of Chinese policy--economic, domestic political, foreign, and defense--is discussed. Evolution of U.S. policy regarding U.S./China economic relations, mutual understanding, U.S./China security relations, and U.S./China cultural and educational relations is also examined. Sections IV, V, and VI explore the prospective influence and likely interaction of other key actors that may influence the U.S./China relationship, e.g., the Soviet Union, Taiwan, and other Asian countries. The seventh section deals with the relationship between Atlantic and Pacific security. Policy recommendations conclude the publication. (RM)

Despite calls for change and numerous proposed alternatives, art education remains committed to the studio model. The retention of the status quo may be related to the economics of art studio materials and especially to the extensive advertising of art supply companies in art teachers' journals. (Author/IS)