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This paper traces the evolution of Australia's apprenticeship and traineeship system since permanent European settlement in 1788. The system was imported from Great Britain; it has evolved and diverged in some areas but retains many of the features of the British model. Most major changes have occurred in the last 25 years. The apprenticeship model--a combination of paid employment, on-the-job and institutional training--has always had particular appeal for meeting intergenerational skills transfer: it provides employers with a source of low-cost labour, the apprentice with paid employment, and an opportunity for government to subsidise employment for those needing help to establish themselves in the labour market. Indeed, the community, employees, unions, employers and government have come to regard apprenticeships as the system for training in the trades and have tolerated few alterations to the system, beyond those resulting from shifts in the occupational and industry mix in the Australian economy and changes in secondary schooling arrangements. The first important reform to apprenticeships occurred in 1985 with the introduction of traineeships, which extended the model to a much wider range of occupations, generally at lower qualification levels. The second was in the mid-1990s when the Australian Government began paying incentives on a large scale to employers to help offset the costs of apprenticeships and traineeships and to encourage more commencements. This had a spectacular impact on traineeship numbers but much less effect on trades apprenticeships. Other significant changes were introduced in 1998; these allowed school students, existing workers and part-time workers to undertake apprenticeships and traineeships. In short, since 1985 the system has moved from one dominated by young males undertaking apprenticeships in the trades to one that provides apprenticeships and traineeships to people of all ages and both sexes, and in a much wider range of occupations. Key messages from this paper include: (1) The apprentice and trainee system needs to address some major issues. Much of the training is at low qualification levels with little or no economic return. And it can be argued that it is neglecting the general education needs of young people; (2) The system needs greater capacity to adapt and respond quickly to changing labour market demands. Australia might look to the experience of countries that use an institutional training model for trade training, which may be much easier to ramp up quickly; and (3) By any standards the cost of Australia's current system places a hefty burden on the public purse, estimated at $2.9 billion in 2008-09. Recorded occupation of a sample of skilled convicts transported to Australia, 1788-1868 is appended. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

Private higher education literature recognizes large public-private differentiation in terms of field of study. Relative to public counterparts, private universities tend to offer their services in fields that require low initial investments and present at least relatively attractive internal private rates of return. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to evaluate the university market in Argentina to confirm if this pattern is still present or, due to political and market forces, for example, private-public differences have tended to blur overtime. We study this dynamic from both the supply (percentage of institutions offering a determined degree program) and the demand side (percentage of students). Although important to assess public-private differentiation, the former has not been the object of in-depth analysis in the literature. The demand side, much more studied, is evaluated here through a longitudinal approach (1975-2006) to see if the public-private distinction is now less fundamental. A main conclusion is that public universities have gotten more and more into "private waters" while, when there is an opportunity, privates have increased their presence in some fields that were once "public property". (Contains 4 tables and 18 footnotes.)

This paper examines different institutional characteristics of Thai private higher education in historical-organizational perspective. The analysis applies different conceptual categories of private emergence--Catholic, elite, demand-absorbing--drawn from international literature starting with Levy (1986) to the Thai case. The societal context of Thai private higher education is rooted fundamentally in the hands of both religious foundations and the business sector. Thai diversification partly conforms to international schema but also shows varying emphases. Catholic must be expanded to religious-oriented and elite reformulated as semi-elite. Although demand-absorbing institutions are the majority in the Thai private sector--as also seen elsewhere--the demand-absorbing subsector shows great internal variations. For all the three conceptual categories, missions may be assessed accordingly. Finally, the paper discusses a growing hybrid trend within the Thai private sector. (Contains 1 table and 17 endnotes.)

This publication is intended for three primary audiences: international development professionals who want to define "workforce" for program design purposes, those who seek information about field activities, and those who want to reflect on the implementation of successful, high impact programs--whether they were broad-based or sector-specific projects or local activities. The goal is to provide readers with options and strategies for connecting diverse sets of development objectives through international workforce initiatives. Following a brief introduction, the first chapter briefly reviews international workforce initiatives' historical roles in United States economic and political diplomacy and how they became part of the practice of development assistance. The chapters that follow provide definitions and design principles. The annexes contain more than 80 profiles of projects the Academy for Educational Development (AED) is currently or has recently implemented that have had workforce components. Most of the examples used come from projects implemented in partnership with the U.S. government, projects funded by the United Nations (UN), the Group of Eight (G-8), private foundations, and national governments are also included. Annexes contain: (1) AED Workforce Initiatives--Project Profiles ; (2) AED-Managed Global Technical Assistance Programs; and (3) Profiles of AED Projects with Workforce Components by Category.(Contains 23 endnotes.) [Primary support for this publication has come from AED's Leadership and Institutional Development Group and the AED Center for Enterprise and Capacity Development (CECD).]

The labour market is one the most significant markets in modern economies. Today labour embodies increasing amounts of human capital in the form of skills, talents and knowledge. Migration of workers between regions and countries can contribute to efficiency. People are moving from areas in which they are underemployed or unemployed to areas in which there is greater demand for their labour. Frequently the movement of people is across national or other administrative borders. Differences between jurisdictions in the way in which they recognise experience, skills and qualifications can subtract from the efficiency of the labour market. This paper outlines steps taken in the European Union (EU) to improve the mobility of skilled labour between EU countries. The interface between qualifications and the labour market is being addressed by the creation of extensive electronic networks providing workers with more information about potential jobs and employers with more meaningful information about potential applicants. Mobility of labour can be further enhanced by improving the portability of social security, health and pension benefits. The EU has also recognised that migrants are a substantial proportion of the EU workforce. In terms of mobility, they may be better placed than residents to take advantage of regional shifts in demand for labour, and impediments to their mobility between EU countries reduces the efficiency of the contribution they can make. The experience in both Australia and New Zealand recognises the economic benefits to be derived from geographic and jurisdictional labour mobility and especially of those aspects associated with the recognition of skills. It is different from the EU experience in two regards: (1) Cultural differences present in Europe are far less apparent in Australia and New Zealand; and (2) Registration in one jurisdiction was a basis for eligibility for registration in all jurisdictions. The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (TTMRA) and Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the Australian Government and the governments of the eight Australian states and territories are cited as potential models for other countries considering a similar strategy. (Contains 7 footnotes.) [Partial funding for this paper was obtained from a grant from the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements.]

This paper is concerned with the strategies being adopted for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and the lessons that could be learned for them from policies in other countries. Six issues are considered in the paper, each relates to or more of the objectives and particular strategies in the Australia's National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 2004-2010: (1) Workforce/adult training and retraining in the light of ageing and shifting occupational structures; (2) Equity issues for indigenous and other groups; (3) Managing demand and funding so that priorities are met; (4) Developments in qualification structures and quality assurance; (5) Enhancing provider capacity to ensure quality and responsiveness; and (6) Regional and community capacity building. The approach taken was to analyse national strategies, policies, objectives and priorities of government agencies to provide a point of comparison with Australia's National Strategy for VET. Analysis was most focused on the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and limited for Canada, due to the decentralised nature of that system. Implications for Australia are set out by strategy. (Contains 6 footnotes and 2 boxes.)

This paper reports on a Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) project that explored policies, programs and other initiatives by Australia's states and territories to support innovation, and to build vocational education and training (VET) capability to respond to its effects on skill needs. The project was undertaken in late 2003-early 2004. CEET set out to document the range of initiatives adopted by the states and territories, their rationales and objectives, funding and major features; to highlight similarities and differences between the approaches and the various emphases being given to different aspects of VET, to types of skills and innovation and to VET-industry relationships; and to highlight best practice approaches. The author found that the states and territories are working to support innovation in industry and enterprises and to build VET capabilities to respond to it, but more could be done and some activities could be more effective. Findings include: (1) More co-operative and collaborative work is needed to reduce the current level of duplication in the provision of web-based support; (2) VET is poorly represented on innovation advisory bodies to governments; (3) Further opportunities could also be given for VET personnel to contribute to research and development, particularly in industry sectors in which they have a high level of expertise; and (4) There is considerable potential for states to learn from each other. (Contains 8 footnotes.)

Despite wide publicity and common usage, the concept of skills shortage has different meaning to different people depending on their perspective. Understanding the different concepts of skills shortages, their measurement and the causes of skill shortages is important if sound policies are to be developed in the areas of employment, education, training and skill formation. This paper aims to contribute to an understanding of the issues. It provides a context for the study by considering recent reviews of skill needs and an overview of the meaning of skills with particular attention to generic skills as well as more vocational skills. Economic theory suggests that some skills imbalances are a feature of a competitive market. Without major hindrances to the market adjustment process, these imbalances resolve over time and may not require intervention. The main drivers of the changing skills requirements are demographic, organisational, social and technological. Adjustment usually takes time because of the speed at which the information about the changes in the market gets dissipated and the time it takes an individual to acquire new skills. However, real-world decentralised labour markets may not lead to optimal allocation of resources. Government action to correct the market may be justified if there is strong evidence showing sub-optimality. Before any effective policy is designed and implemented, it is important to understand the operation of the current market and to investigate reasons for its failure. Lack of good empirical knowledge of how markets adjust, and the time lag between an imbalance being observed and the impact of a policy makes effective intervention difficult in practice. (Contains 6 footnotes and 3 figures.)

The purpose of this project was to review the use of price measures in education and training and to consider the types of measures that could be applied. There are several contexts in which price measures are needed and the context will affect the type of measure of price change that is needed. Section 1 of the report discusses budget estimates and planning accountability for efficient and equitable use of funds; and research involving consideration of resources. Section 2 is an overview of the major forms of price indexes. Section 3 reports on the current use made by national authorities of measures of price changes in relation to education expenditure. Section 4 reviews the current use of price deflators with a view to the most appropriate index for the particular purpose. Section 5 considers price measures for the wage and non-wage components of vocational education training (VET) expenses and their limitations for the purposes specified. Summary and concluding comments are presented in Section 6. Two appendices are included: (1) Review of Selected Price Measures and their Limitations; and (2) Selected CPI Groups, Sub-Groups and Expenditure Classes. (Contains 7 footnotes, 5 boxes and 9 tables.)

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. It examines the notion of a learning society in Britain, suggesting that markedly different interpretations of the term are in common use among politicians, economists, policymakers, and educationalists. The paper outlines chief arguments currently being used to advocate the establishment of a learning society in Britain. These arguments have two strands--the claim that the standard of education and training in a country has a direct impact on its economy and that, therefore, expenditure on learning by the state and employers will be recouped, and the claim that there is a lack of justice in the distribution of education and its rewards in Britain today. Since this involves a brief description of the availability of education and training in Britain, the paper allows a preliminary consideration of the extent to which a learning society already exists or can be said to have existed in the past. It concludes that to some extent the "learning society" is used as a term of convenience. Appendixes include definitions and acronyms. Contains 103 references. (YLB)

This bibliographic essay is designed to help the student begin to investigate both context and content of contemporary Spanish society, government, politics, and economy. Coverage is selective because the focus is on sources in English, although where important subject matter gaps exist, Spanish sources are provided. Many of these are available in research libraries. Others have to be secured from their publishers, such as agencies of the government of Spain. The investigator of Spanish institutions will find that understanding the nature of this culture will fall into three broad categories of analysis: (1) broad, retrospective and introspective historical analyses of history, society, politics, and economics, that reach back from pre-Roman influences and travel into the 20th century: (2) works that emphasize the forces, particularly political, from the late 19th century on that led up to the civil war and include the Franco regime; and (3) the period of post-Franco transformation and the current building of Spain as a democratic constitutional monarchy. The first two traditions are primarily historical, the third is rich in analysis. Because democracy in Spain developed through a peaceful transformation to democracy by negotiation among its major interests, the transformation period fundamentally altered Spain's governmental and economic institutions, laid to rest many political cleavages that had been alive for nearly 200 years, and changed Spanish society. The resources described are divided into sections of general works, political system, government and policy making, economy, society and culture. Contains 124 references. (DK)

Recent world developments have created an opportune time for nations to vigorously pursue a policy of converting the huge portion of their economies that traditionally have been devoted to military expenditures to more socially productive uses. This paper outlines a strategy for such a conversion, and discusses the issues that must be confronted in such a process. Specific aspects of conversion include: (1) misconceptions about lessening military spending; (2) building a conversion coalition; (3) the paths forged by China and the Soviet Union; (4) upheaval in Eastern Europe; and (5) grassroots initiatives in the West. It is concluded that the gathering pressure for disarmament suggests that conversion will be a topic gaining importance during the 1990's. A number of statistical tables, charts, and maps appear throughout this paper, and 127 endnotes are provided. (DB)

Education has been recognized as the cornerstone of economic and social development. Now it is even more important as technological change and new methods of production transform the world economy. Development will depend more and more on knowledge-intensive industries, agriculture, and services. The continuing economic crisis, however, is jeopardizing the ability of many countries to maintain even the present quality of their educational services. These countries are falling behind in providing the education and training needed by their youth to create and adapt available knowledge and technologies to the local environment. This report examines the relationship between education and economic development and evaluates various measures designed to improve the quality of education in developing countries. It draws on the successes and failures of past educational policies to recommend strategies that address a number of different economic conditions. Among the topics addressed by the report are: (1) the effect of education on the achievements of women; (2) a comparison of the benefits of vocational/technical and academic education; (3) the effect of education on mortality, nutrition, and fertility; (4) management of the educational system; and (5) cost recovery and private education. Thirty tables of data appear throughout the report and an extensive bibliography is included. (Authors/DB)

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, at the invitation of the AHELO Group of National Experts, contracted the Tuning Association to undertake initial development work on learning outcomes to be used for valid and reliable assessments of students from diverse institutions and countries. The two disciplines selected for the AHELO Feasibility Study are engineering and economics. Following the Tuning approach, academics from various regions and countries in the world reached consensus on definitions of expected learning outcomes for bachelor's-type programmes in both disciplines. This Working Paper presents the outcomes of their work for the economics discipline. This report intends to identify a set of learning outcomes and spur on a collective reflection on learning outcomes for economics at the transnational level. In addition to the agreed upon learning outcomes, the paper presents an overview of the field of economics, the typical degrees and occupations in economics associated to the first and second cycle degrees. The paper also discusses the role of learning outcomes and presents the approach used to defining them. A summary of some of the prior work on the learning outcomes approaches in the economics field is also provided. (Contains 19 footnotes.)

The author examines whether education increases patience. Admission decisions in a public college in Mexico are determined through a lottery. He finds that applicants who were successful in the draw were more likely to study in the following years. He surveyed the applicants to this college almost two years after the admission decision was made and measured their time preferences with a series of hypothetical inter-temporal choice questions. He finds that individuals who were successful in the admission lottery were, on average, more patient. He argues that this evidence points towards a causal effect of education on time preferences. (Contains 1 figure, 10 tables, and 6 footnotes.)

In the last three decennia, many governments have introduced market mechanisms in education. They have done so by enhancing parental choice and encouraging school competition, through policies like abolishing catchment areas, creating voucher programmes and setting up charter schools. These market mechanisms have given rise to fierce debates in both political and scientific circles. However, most prior reviews of research literature in this area have concluded that the effects of market mechanisms in education are small, if they are found at all. This review tries to answer the question why that is the case, by analysing the causal pathways that link market mechanisms to educational outcomes and by reviewing the empirical evidence for each step along those causal pathways. The findings of this review point to the need for a nuanced and qualified discussion about market mechanisms in education. What market mechanisms mean in actual practice strongly depends on (local) contexts, while the impact of market mechanisms is related to other policies impacting on parental choice behaviour as well as actions taken by schools. Appended are: (1) Country Case Studies; and (2) Terminology. Notes are also included. (Contains 1 table.)

The three papers in this publication analyze a newspaper article on "economic politics," or more specifically, the devaluing of the Danish kroner. The papers all examine some linguistic or structural feature of the language used in writing the article. Specific focus is on relevance theory and relevance in the article, the use of text analysis in looking at relevance, the function of the language used in the article, and the intention of the writing (e.g., how the writing of the article is used to shape the opinions of readers). (VWL)

This paper presents a framework for evaluating the level and composition of public expenditures, illustrated by sectoral and country examples. The paper illustrates how this framework can be applied to analyzing broad allocations of spending within and across sectors, drawing upon some key findings and country examples from major sectors (health, education, infrastructure). The report emphasizes six elements which should be an integral part of an ongoing exercise to evaluate public spending. Those elements include: (1) the aggregate level of public spending and deficit of the consolidated public sector must be consistent with the macroeconomic framework; (2) aggregate spending should be allocated to programs within and across sectors to maximize social welfare, including the impact on the poor; (3) the role of the government versus the private sector ought to be a principal criterion governing the choice of programs for public financing and provision--public expenditures should complement rather than substitute for private sector activities; (4) the impact of key programs on the poor, including their incidence and total costs, should be analyzed; (5) the input mix, or the allocations for capital and recurrent expenditures, should be analyzed in an integrated manner within programs and sectors; and (6) budgetary institutions should be analyzed to insure that the underlying incentive structure contributes to aggregate fiscal discipline, allocative efficiency and equity in the composition of spending, and technical efficiency in the use of budgeted resources. Fifteen tables (out of 49) and 5 appendices (out of 17) deal with education-related data. The paper should be useful to policymakers in developing countries, staff in donor organizations, as well as researchers working on public expenditure issues. (Author/EH)

The European Union's most important challenge is to establish permanent, reliable methodologies and systems that support transparency and recognition of vocational qualifications. The concept of "transparency of qualifications" has replaced "recognition" and "comparability.""Transparency" points to the need to make national qualifications more visible and understandable to outsiders; the introduction of common standards is an unnecessary implication. In the 4 decades since the establishment of the European Community, the problems of recognition and transparency of vocational qualifications have been addressed in various ways. Three distinct stages have been identified: harmonization of vocational education and training (1957-73); approximation of vocational training levels (1974-92); and convergence of vocational training (1992-present). A number of projects with partners from several countries have been set up through the Leonardo da Vinci program to address core elements of the transparency problem. Other initiatives have addressed the problem of recognition and comparison of nonformal skills. Unfortunately, the exchange of information is too weak, interpretation too poor, and mechanisms supporting exchange of information and interpretation insufficiently developed. Two complementary strategies to increase transparency and mutual trust have been suggested: a European Qualifications' Transparency Network and a general system of binding agreements among the European countries. (Page format using three columns offer German, English, and French language versions.) (YLB)

Nuclear power was considered vital to humanity's future until just a short time ago. Since the late seventies, economic viability has joined a list of such issues as waste disposal and radiation hazards which call into question the future of nuclear power. This document discusses (in separate sections): (1) the selling of nuclear power, including worldwide nuclear power commitments; (2) costs, including annual rate increases for nuclear construction; (3) explanations for the rising cost of nuclear power, examining such issues as mismanagement, nuclear power plant sizes, design flaws in early plants that required costly correction, and earthquake resistance; (4) decline of nuclear power programs in the United States; (5) international outlook on nuclear power development; and (6) other issues and problems. It is pointed out in the last section that the economic failings of nuclear power suggest the need for several major policy changes, including a more balanced approach in energy research and development which nuclear power has dominated in most industrial countries since the fifties. (JN)

Although soil erosion is a natural process, it has increased to the point where it far exceeds the natural formation of new soil. However, with only occasional exceptions, national agricultural and population policies have failed to take soil depletion into account. Projections of world food production always incorporate estimates of future cropland area, but what has been lacking has been an effort to project changes in inherent productivity of the projected cropland area. To help remedy this shortcoming in world food supply projections, an estimate of the worldwide loss of topsoil from cropland is presented. Areas discussed include: (1) the causes of soil erosion; (2) dimensions of the problem in various countries; (3) the effects of erosion (particularly related to loss of topsoil) on agricultural productivity; (4) the effects of erosion on other areas (indicating that the loss of topsoil that reduces land productivity may also reduce irrigation, electrical generation, and the navigability of waterways); (5) economic aspects of soil conservation; (6) the role of governments; and (7) global aspects of the problem. (JN)

Intended to provide background for study and discussion, this publication gives updated information on development in sub-Saharan Africa and provides a basis for understanding U.S. policy toward this vital region. The strengths, problems, politics, natural resources, and language and ethnolinguistic groups of this area of the world and the international and regional organizations active here are discussed in detail. Extensive data tables include information on the population, culture, education, labor force, imports, exports, estimated U.S. economic assistance, date of independence, type of government, and chief of state and/or head of government for each of the 46 independent countries south of the Sahara. The 55-item bibliography is divided into three sections: reference and introductory material, historical and cultural background, and contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. (AA)