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Human capital plays a crucial role in regional innovation and economic progress, which has increasingly been highlighted in research. However, rising housing costs in cities can push talent away, causing brain drain and hindering local innovation. Within this context, China has seen widespread adoption of talent housing policies (THPs) aimed at providing housing assistance for the high-skilled labor force, although the ramifications of these initiatives remain largely underexplored. Based on labor force heterogeneity, this study investigates the effects of THPs targeted at high-skilled labor on the mobility of both high- and low-skilled workers and their consequent impact on regional innovation. Our findings reveal that while THPs bolster the local pool of highly skilled human capital and attract more low-skilled workforce, enhancing regional innovation through labor–skill complementarities, they concurrently elevate housing costs for low-skilled laborers, reducing their long-term settlement intensions and potentially hindering a city's innovation trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the import and export trade data of 29 provinces and cities in China from 1997 to 2017, this paper studies the impact of trade on China's labor demand elasticity, and whether the impact will be affected by the level of domestic human capital. The results show that: import is conducive to improving the labor demand elasticity, and export is conducive to reducing the labor demand elasticity. Moreover, with the improvement of domestic human capital level, the weakening effect of export on the labor demand elasticity is strengthened, and the improving effect of import on the labor demand elasticity is weakened. The reason is that the improvement of the level of human capital can reduce the demand elasticity of domestic and foreign consumers for domestic products by improving the cost performance of products, and can also reduce the factor substitution elasticity of labor force. Therefore, the improvement effect of import on the demand elasticity of labor force is weakened, and the weakening effect of export on the demand elasticity of labor force is strengthened. It can be seen that the improvement of domestic human capital level is conducive to the labor force to deal with the employment security problem in the trade liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers analysing the effect of sector-specific foreign direct investment (FDI) (the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors) on economic growth in 19 developing countries over the period 2005–2018. Variables such as human capital, domestic investment, financial development, openness of the economy, labour force, and arable land were included as control variables. A robust two-step system generalised method of moments (GMM) was utilised for the analysis of the data. The study found that FDI's growth effect is indeed influenced by its sectoral composition in developing countries. The finding reveals that FDI in manufacturing has a positive and statistically significant influence on economic growth, whereas FDI in the tertiary sector has a statistically significant negative effect on economic growth, but FDI in the primary sector has a negative but negligible effect on economic growth. Lastly, it can be concluded from the above results that the more manufacturing FDI that countries attract, the greater their economic growth will be. In light of this, the countries should provide special incentives like tariff reductions, tax holidays, and cheap-rented land supplies in order to attract more manufacturing sector FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation due to human economic activities is closely linked to poverty in developing countries and can have long-term effects on well-being and sustainable development. This study investigates the nexus between toxic pollution and poverty by examining the economic impacts of lead (Pb) exposure on household welfare in Kabwe, Zambia. Kabwe, once a lead and zinc mining center, is now one of the world's most polluted urban areas, with high soil and air lead levels posing substantial health risks. We conducted a household survey and collected blood samples, matching socioeconomic data with blood lead levels (BLLs). Our empirical strategy uses variations in soil lead concentration across Kabwe neighborhoods to assess the causal impact of lead exposure on household welfare dimensions, such as consumption, education, health, and labor supply. Results show that a 1% increase in adult BLLs reduces per capita household consumption by 0.1–0.2% and increases the probability of being below the poverty line. Additionally, BLLs negatively affect adult health and children's schooling, while healthcare costs and labor supply remain unaffected. These findings suggest that lead exposure exacerbates poverty, hinders human capital accumulation, and has long-lasting implications for sustainable development. • Investigates the nexus between toxic pollution and poverty in Kabwe, Zambia. • Uses soil lead concentration variations to assess the causal impact of lead exposure on household welfare. • A 1% increase in adult blood lead levels decreases per capita consumption by 0.1-0.2% and increases the poverty risk. • Lead exposure harms adult health and children's schooling, while healthcare costs and labor supply remain unaffected. • Highlights lead exposure's enduring effects on human capital and poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investments in human capital are individual and collective choices carrying significant external effects. Educated parents and friends accelerate our own human capital accumulation. Skilled colleagues at work increase our own productivity. Sharing experiences with cultured people is gratifying by itself. We introduce human capital externalities in a stylized model à la Uzawa (1965) and we find that growth can be no longer balanced and the equilibrium can be globally indeterminate. Labor supply goes to one and capital reaches an upper ceiling in a finite lapse of time above the initial critical value of labor supply ensuring the balanced growth path. Under a constant tax rate, the government should set a positive rate to speed up human capital accumulation during transition to the capital ceiling. • Investments in human capital are choices carrying significant external effects. • We introduce human capital externalities in a model close to Uzawa (1965). • Growth can be no longer balanced and the equilibrium can be indeterminate. • Outside the BGP, labor supply goes to one and capital reaches an upper ceiling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the globalized situation of environmental damage, increasing scarcity of resources, and uncertainty about their costs, challenges have been imposed for the saving of energy and inputs used, the transition to green energy and pollution reduction. Green innovation can be assimilated as a radical solution to meet these challenges and make the production process greener. The present study aims at examining the ecological effects of green innovation and the human capital by using the double-threshold model and the quantile regression method to the case of G20 over the period 1998–2017. Therefore, the objective of the study is to scrutinize the impact of environmental-related technology and the human facet on the ecological footprint (ECF), and to examine whether these effects are conditioned by the different thresholds of human capital index (HCI). The existing literature has not sufficiently analyzed these effects in the presence of different levels of environmental degradation and human capital, especially when human capacities and green technological innovation are integrated in a single model as mitigators of ECF. The results of the panel quantile regression revealed that the green technological innovation is an important mitigator of ECF whatever the level of environmental degradation of G20 economies. In addition, panel threshold technique disclosed that the positive repercussions of green innovation and human capital on environmental quality are only recorded above a threshold level of the HCI. Our findings revealed beside that the impact of lagged green innovation on the ECF are moderated by human capital, but only above a given threshold of human capital, which reflects that the latter plays an awareness-raising and non-functional role to reduce ECF when it is below the threshold level. The insights provided by this study can serve policy makers on actions that need to be directed with respect to green innovation and human capital development for global environmental policy tracers. • The direct effects of green innovation and those conditioned by the levels of human capital were investigated • Green technological innovation is environmentally beneficial for G20 countries under all quantiles • A minimum threshold of the human capital is required so that green innovation can minimize damage to the environment • Human capital played an awareness-raising role to mitigate ecological footprint when it is below the threshold level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are people prone to selecting occupations with highly skewed income distributions, irrespective of the mean and variance of their expected earnings? This paper introduces a basic theoretical framework to understand labor supply decisions in winner-take-all markets. Assembling a comprehensive longitudinal dataset of potential tennis professionals (a typical superstar market), we use objective and publicly known rankings to construct earnings projections before each player decides whether to enter that labor market. Player- and cohort-age fixed effects account for unobservable factors at the individual level and within a given cohort and year. We find prospective tennis professionals are attracted to highly skewed earnings distributions, independent of mean and variance. Hypothetically, if skewness in prize money fell to the level of the overall US labor market, males would be 7.2% and females 2.6% less likely to continue pursuing a professional tennis career, on average. Superstar labor markets may therefore systematically encourage those with modest talents to pursue long-shot careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Linking the structures of endowment, investment, and the resultant changes in human welfare. • Focusing on investing in human capital, and its impact on structures of employment and productivity. • Investing in human capital will significantly improve people's welfare by extending life expectancy. • In 2030, average life expectancy will be extended by 0.91 years in the green future scenario. • Moving to a green development path will also increase the shares of green employment. • As pollutant emission fall, the labor force becomes healthier and more resilient, contributing to a rise in productivity in the economy. • Investing in human capital is the best path to expedite the green transformation. This paper analyzes the linkage between structures of endowment, investment, and resultant changes in employment, pollutant emission, and human welfare. Contrary to conventional wisdom, China's endowment structure has shifted toward human capital implying that its latent comparative advantage lies in the human capital–intensive sectors. We employ a System Dynamic model with 10 subsectors, and simulate the impact of changes in investment on changes in pollutant emission, employment, and welfare. Results show that, first, shifting investment to human capital would significantly improve people's welfare by reduced pollution and extended life expectancy. In 2030, average life expectancy will be extended by 0.91 years. Second, human capital–intensive green sectors will expand rapidly, generating a large number of green jobs. A policy implication of this paper is that shifting investment toward human capital can expedite green transformation, improve the resilience of the labor force, and contribute to a rise in human welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an up-to-date career and demographic profile of Canadian research university librarians by comparing newly derived data from the 8Rs Study: The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries, with corresponding information from the author's 2006 survey: The Scholarship of Canadian Research University Librarians, and other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the potential impact of vocational education on wage differentials between vocational and general graduates over the life cycle in Thailand, using the national Labor Force Survey (LFS) from 2017 to 2022. The returns to vocational education are analyzed at three levels of education: upper secondary, diploma, and college. The inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) method is implemented to account for non-random assignment in choosing the academic track. The results show, on average, that vocational educated workers receive higher wages than those with general education, but it has no significant differences by comparing to university graduates in science and engineering with the same years of education. Additionally, the wage premiums associated to vocational education tend to increase at older ages. The empirical evidence corroborates the crucial role of vocational education in increasing long-term earnings and the number of technical-skilled workers in the Thai labor market. • Vocational educated workers receive higher wages than those with general education. • No significant differences by comparing to university graduates in science and engineering with the same years of education. • The wage premiums associated to vocational education tend to increase at older ages. • Females with tertiary vocational education are more likely to receive a higher long-term wage premium than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies show the important influence of economic complexity index (ECI) on environmental quality, but do not consider the mediating effect of other key factors on the relationship between the two, thus ignoring the structural break and nonlinear characteristics of the relationship between ECI and environmental quality. To fill this research gap, this study constructs a decomposition framework and multiple panel threshold regression models based on an extended STIRPAT model using panel data from 36 OECD countries to explore the nonlinear relationship between ECI and ecological footprint (an indicator of environmental quality) in terms of three key mediators: energy consumption structure, industrial structure, and human capital. The results show that a 1% increase in economic complexity is associated with a 0.075% increase in ecological footprint per capita, and an increase in economic complexity is detrimental to environmental improvement. When energy consumption structure is used as the threshold variable, the correlation coefficient between ECI and ecological footprint per capita gradually shifts from positive to negative with an inverted U-shaped curve as the share of renewable energy consumption increases. In particular, when the share of renewable energy consumption is higher than 44.56%, ECI shows a negative correlation with ecological footprint, i.e., ECI promotes the improvement of environmental quality. When the industrial structure is used as the threshold variable, the coefficient change from the below-threshold stage to the above-threshold stage indicates that the reduction of per capita ecological footprint shrinks from 0.161% to 0.102% for each 1% increase in ECI. The increase in the human capital index suppresses the positive effect of ECI on the ecological footprint per capita, i.e., the technology effect mitigates the environmental pressure caused by ECI, and only a country with a human capital index above 2.60 is in the interval where the technology effect comes into play. Finally, targeted policy recommendations from the perspective of the energy structure, industrial structure, and labor force are proposed to mitigate the effects of economic complexity on environmental quality. [Display omitted] • Exploring the structural break and nonlinear characteristics of the relationship between ECI and environmental quality. • a 1% increase in economic complexity is associated with a 0.075% increase in ecological footprint per capita. • Energy consumption structure is the threshold variable, an inverted U-shaped curve between ECI and ecological footprint per capita. • The increase in the human capital index suppresses the positive effect of ECI on the ecological footprint per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is experiencing significant, largely economic and sociotechnical, induced change. These induced changes are meaningful with a function of people taking collective actions around common beliefs. These changes are more than jargon, cliché, and hyperbole, and they are effecting major transformations. These transformations will impact on how human resources are developed, and we need to be able to forecast its effects. In order to produce such forecasts, Human Resource Development needs to become more predictive - to develop the ability to understand how human capital systems and organizations will behave in future. As part of a multi-phase, mixed methods study design based on systems and complexity theories to identify skill needs for the emerging agrifood nanotechnology sector, a strategic flexibility analysis (SFA) was conducted. Strategic Flexibility Framework (SFF) is a scenario analysis tool and its use in this study is based on the idea that Business Leaders, Managers, Educators and Human Resource Development professionals require flexibility to adjust decisions within given constraints. This paper describes the use of strategic flexibility analysis and the qualitative systems approaches as tools for systems research and it implications for human resources development and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human capital is an essential driver for the growth of national and regional innovation systems. In this study, we can show that also intra-metropolitan innovation clusters locate in, or in proximity to, neighbourhoods with a high level of human capital. Our interpretation of human capital involves an educated, talented, creative and tolerant workforce. Indicators from earlier literature are complemented by identified new propositions. In addition, by using both relative and absolute measures, we conclude that innovations emerge the best in dense and mixed urban structure. After identifying the geography of human capital and innovativeness, we predict also potential growth areas, which could help urban planning of the HMA. The modelling methods used in this study can be implemented and applied in urban studies of other city regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary We attempt to reconcile competing arguments regarding international trade’s implications for citizen well-being: that trade either erodes citizen welfare by decreasing the incentives and resources for welfare improvements or leads to higher welfare by increasing those incentives and resources. We find that which of these two dynamics a country experiences depends on its level of human capital. In countries already well-endowed with human capital, greater international trade reinforces further improvements in welfare. But in most countries, the workforce has not yet developed such capacities, and in these countries trade is associated with slower improvements in welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This study assesses the role of human capital (HK) on FDI inflows to sub-Saharan Africa. It uses panel data for the period 1980–2012 to asses if changing skill needs influence FDI inflows. Several measures of HK are used to assess whether the quality of labor explains FDI flows over the study period. Various versions of an FDI model were estimated and the results show that all measures of HK have a significant influence on FDI, as are the traditional variables. There is no evidence of the increasing importance of HK on FDI over time, probably reflecting the type of FDI flowing into SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seemingly intransigent human resource issues remain at the forefront of global tourism's challenges. Some of the key issues were identified in Baum's (2007) reflections on this topic. In light of the significant change that has impacted on tourism and employment in the intervening years, this conceptual paper provides an assessment of the current status of the issues that Baum identified in 2007 and identifies a range of emerging concerns that continue to shape the tourism workplace and workforce. The status of tourism work can be seen in terms of both continuity and change and the impact of these contrary forces is considered in reaching conclusions that highlight both the ongoing challenges for tourism and the evident progress that can be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Employment at age 15-16 fosters skill formation and reduces risky behavior • Effects are identified in a value-added model exploiting variation within pairs of twins • Work experience increases exit exam grades and reduces juvenile delinquency • Work experience increases the years of schooling attained by age 20 • If anything, work experience reduces school dropout and school absenteeism We estimate the causal effect of hours of employment during the final year of compulsory school on cognitive skills, risky behavior, and educational achievement. The effect is identified by exploiting variation in hours of school-year employment between employed twins and estimation of a value-added model using administrative registers. Increasing hours of school-year employment increases grades in the school exit exams, reduces juvenile delinquency in the following year, and increases the years of schooling attained by age 20. If anything, increasing hours of school-year employment reduces school dropout and school absence. Our results are consistent with a non-linear effect of employment intensity on educational achievement and employment being preventive of risky behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] SGs are effective tools for enhancing lifelong learning. [•] Before adoption specific attention should be given to SGs selection. [•] SGs should allow appropriate personalization of learning paths. [•] SGs impact should consider both cognitive and affective/behavioral aspects. [•] SGs can be considered suitable means to contribute to develop Human Capital. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we study the impact of cognitive ability on college major choices using an administrative data set for full-time students enrolled in four-year business and economics programs offered by the largest Slovenian university. In contrast to existing studies, we are able to distinguish between general ability, measured with high school GPA, and major-specific ability, measured with grades achieved in major-specific courses. We show that students with higher general ability are more likely to enroll in Economics majors, while higher major specific ability (e.g. higher grade in Accounting) increases the likelihood of choosing that major (Accounting). We also find that both genders are more responsive to measured major-specific ability in majors that are traditionally more popular among them (e.g. Business Informatics for males). These results suggest that policy makers aiming to change the structure of the labor supply should attempt to change the major-specific abilities of students. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The key to build the rural well-off society is to actively develop rural human resources and transform the abundant rural human resources into solid human capital. This paper, based on the view angle of departmental benefits, carries out the demonstration analysis of the problems in rural work force training in minority nationality regions in China at present. It is held by the task team that the decentralization of fiscal investment is the immediate cause of these problems while the effects of the departmental benefits are the in-depth cause and the realistic approach to settle the problem is to establish the multi-cooperative training system in the minority nationality regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Much of the current debate in ageing countries focuses on whether governments should increase investments in human capital. We address this issue by simulating the effects of additional education spending using an overlapping-generations model applied to Canada. In the context of population ageing, the results indicate that how the policy is funded has powerful impacts on the targeted outcomes. Higher education incentives may increase the rate of human capital accumulation and mitigate the negative effects of slowing labour force growth. However, the impact depends on the distortions implied by alternative tax instruments and the efficiency of public expenditures on education. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The cruise industry enjoys arguably the most flexible and globalized of all labor markets. Yet, in an apparent paradox, cruise lines face a potential labor shortage, despite the fact that the bulk of their labor is sourced from the Global South where a large labor surplus would seemingly make recruitment a simple process. This paper examines this paradox in greater detail with a focus on the tension that exists between the industry’s demand for a flexible labor force, and the need for workers who maintain the skills required of a cruise ship job. It is argued that the contemporary geography of global labor recruitment is constrained by the particular political, economic and cultural circumstances of individual source countries that make certain cohorts less attractive or available as a workforce. In practice the need for skill and flexibility are not always reconcilable and cruise lines have found that there is a geographic limit to labor market flexibility. The article is based on interviews with various stakeholders involved in either working on cruise ships or in recruiting workers. Special emphasis is placed on Filipino cruise ship workers and labor recruiters as a means to discuss labor recruitment for the entire industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper estimates changes in the effects of educational attainment and college quality on three cohorts of students observed during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Consistent with most of the prior literature, I find that educational attainment and college quality raise earnings, and the magnitudes of these effects have increased over time. The new contributions of this paper are the following: (1) changes in these effects are disaggregated by sex, race, and parent''s SES, and include estimates of effects on earnings, labor force participation, family formation, and civic participation; (2) evidence of larger increases in the effects of education on earnings and labor force participation for men, Blacks, and Hispanics; (3) declining effects of educational attainment on voter registration; and (4) increasing effects of college quality on delaying marriage and childbearing, particularly for males. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wealth inequality receives substantial scholarly attention, but mounting evidence suggests that childhood and adolescent traits and experiences contribute to financial disparities in the United States. This study examines the relationship between adolescent labor force participation and adult wealth accumulation. I argue that employed high school students gain practical life skills, abilities, and knowledge from work experience and business exposure that shape investment decisions and affect overall net worth. I use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort, to empirically explore this idea. This study extends the wealth literature by identifying adolescent employment as an important mechanism that improves adult net worth and financial well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although it has been hypothesized in the literature that both human capital and social capital are important for the economic performance of new immigrants, few studies have examined these relationships empirically, especially in understudied populations such as Chinese populations. This study simultaneously examines the roles of human capital and social capital in the economic integration of new arrivals from Mainland China to Hong Kong, using a random sample of immigrants. In the early stage of immigration (less than 6 months after arrival), we find little support for the presumed positive effects of both human capital and social capital on employment status among new arrivals in Hong Kong. Follow-up studies are underway to investigate the dynamic relationship between social capital and economic integration in this group of new arrivals, and whether social capital, especially friendship networks, plays a more important role in the economic integration of new immigrants 1 or 2 years after arrival. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Occupational accidents severely deteriorate human capital, and hence negatively affect the productivity and competitiveness of countries. But despite this, we still observe a scarcity of preventive practices, an unsatisfactory management commitment and an absence of safety culture among Spanish firms. The result is evident in firms’ high accident rates. This situation is a consequence of the general belief among firms that investing in safety is a cost, and hence has negative repercussions for their competitiveness. The current work aims to identify good practices in safety management, and analyse the effect of these practices on a set of indicators of organisational performance. For this, we first carry out an exhaustive literature review, and then formulate a series of hypotheses. We then test the proposed model on a sample of 455 Spanish firms. Our findings show that safety management has a positive influence on safety performance, competitiveness performance, and economic-financial performance. Hence they provide evidence of the compatibility between worker protection and corporate competitiveness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we perform an initial, exploratory analysis to determine whether firms use “cultural filters” as indirect and direct proxies for human capital when screening potential applicants for employment opportunities. Using data collected from three counties in Washington State, we find that these filters do, indeed, influence hiring decisions. As a result, it may be advantageous for policy makers to consider restructuring welfare policies to account for the effects of these cultural filters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Administrative skill is essential to organizational effectiveness. Yet, few studies examine how human capital investments over a career affect selection into administration. We use panel data for economists to estimate the probability of choosing administration over a pure academic track. The results show that, while research-specific human capital reduces the probability of becoming an administrator, general human capital increases it. There are also inferior administrative opportunities for women that have not improved over time and variation in the role of human capital according to institutional research mission. Thus, our results suggest academic leaders are not merely born, but cultivated through their human capital investments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper uses the approach in the under/over education literature to analyze the extent of matching of educational level to occupational attainment among adult native born and foreign born men in the US, using the 2000 Census. Overeducation is found to be more common among recent labor market entrants, while undereducation is more likely among older workers. Among immigrants, greater pre-immigration labor market experience is associated with poorer job matches, presumably due to the less-than-perfect international transferability of foreign experience. A longer duration in the US, however, is associated with a lower probability of being overeducated and a greater probability of being undereducated. This is consistent with immigrants being favorably selected for occupational advancement but this effect becomes realized only after overcoming the disadvantages of the less-than-perfect international transferability of their pre-immigration skills. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of female human capital endowment on the groom price or dowry by using a newly available data set that was created by surveying the middle-class residents of Patna, Bihar. The estimates based on the OLS and 2SLS suggest the existence of positive association between the two variables for the sample under study. The result can be viewed as a positive; albeit, a small step towards settling the issue as to whether or not dowry is an obstacle to female human capital formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most studies on childhood health and human capital in developing countries examine how early childhood linear growth relates to later human productivity as reflected in schooling success. Work status is another important human capital outcome related to early child health. This study examines the relationship of linear growth restriction at 2 years of age to work status in young adults who have, for the most part completed their schooling and further explores whether this relationship differs by gender. The analysis sample of 1795 was drawn from participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, which followed individuals from birth to age 20–22 years. Work status in 2005 was represented by three categories: not working, working in an informal job, and working in a formal job. Formal work in the Philippines, as in most countries, is associated with regular hours, higher wages and benefits. Analyses were stratified by gender and current school enrolment, and adjusted for socioeconomic status and attained years of schooling. Among males no longer in school, higher length-for-age Z-score (LAZ) at age 2 was associated with a 40% increase in likelihood of formal work compared to not working. In females, each 1 unit increase in LAZ was associated with 0.2 higher likelihood of formal vs. informal work. No significant associations were observed in the small sample of young adults still in school. To improve job prospects of young adults, it is important to provide proper nutrition in early childhood and adequate educational opportunities during schooling years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: We use stochastic Frontier analysis to study which of the three channels of technology diffusion, foreign direct investment (FDI), imports of machinery and equipment, or imports of research and development (R&D) expenditures, affect the total factor productivity of developing countries. We also analyze whether a developing country’s openness to technology diffusion is affected by their existing levels of human capital. We find that FDI, imported capital goods, and imported R&D are all important channels for improving efficiency, as is human capital accumulation. However, the positive effect of FDI, imported capital goods, and imported R&D depends crucially on the level of accumulated human capital. In addition, we find that in the process of technology diffusion, the impact of formal education is more important for imported R&D than it is for imported capital and FDI, whereas the opposite is true for learning by doing, which is found to be more important for knowledge diffusion through FDI and imported capital. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: LeClair [LeClair, M. S. (2002). Fighting the tide: alternative trade organizations in the era of global free trade. World Development, 30(6), 949–958] concludes that in theory Fair Trade is a second-best alternative to aid, may impose losses on non-Fair Trade producers and prolongs dependence on unsustainable modes of production. This paper shows how these conclusions depend upon a particular definition of subsidy and upon the assumptions of full employment and that Fair Trade goods face price-inelastic demand. An adverse impact on non-Fair Trade producers is possible but not intrinsic, and the claim of economic inefficiency cannot be sustained within a more general analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Using panel data from 118 developing countries in 1971–2000, this paper explores the channels linking social spending, human capital, and growth and compares the effects of alternative economic policy interventions. With separate modeling for education and health capital, explicit control for governance, and incorporation of nonlinearity, the paper finds that both education and health spending have a positive and significant impact on education and health capital, and thus support higher growth. Also, other policy interventions, such as improving governance and taming inflation, can achieve similar results. Hence, higher spending alone is likely insufficient to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this article, in a context of wage equations with sample selection, we propose a novel interpretation of the partial effects linked to education as additional measures of returns to education that complement the traditional one, which is directly obtained from the estimation of the wage offer equation. Using European Household Panel data for Spain these partial effects were calculated. The results show that there are incentives in Spain for investing in education not only because it means an increase in wages but also because it raises the probability of obtaining any wage at all. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: I investigate the role of education on health, using country-level data and the production frontier framework suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess performances of health care systems. I find that the impact of human capital on health is much smaller than suggested by the WHO frontier model, and the relationship exhibits diminishing return in the observed range of education. Taking into account the heterogeneity in this relationship generates a different ranking of the efficiency of health care systems internationally. This suggests that the method currently used by the WHO favors health care systems operating in countries that underinvested in education in the past. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study provides the first estimates of the causal impact of education on hospitalization. It improves upon existing studies on health and education by using a larger data set and more efficient estimation methods. Using a Danish school reform to identify a causal effect of education on hospitalization, we find that education has a substantial and significant effect on the probability of being hospitalized for women, whereas we only find a significant effect for men for selected life-style related diagnoses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The adoption of state accountability testing in the 1990s coincided with the movement of some school start dates from September into August. Using data from Wisconsin, this paper connects these phenomena, showing that some low-scoring districts advanced their school start dates to allow their students more time to prepare for exams. I use a 2001 Wisconsin state law that restricted districts to start dates after September 1st to identify the effects of this extra time on student achievement. Extra classroom days are associated with small increases in Math scores for 4th graders, but not average reading or language scores. Extra classroom time may also have increased third grade reading scores for students in the upper portion of the ability distribution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using data for a large cross-country sample, a reasonable model is estimated to judge the effect of adult educational attainment on prevalence of HIV. Three main points are noted. First, there is an indication of a significantly negative effect of educational attainment on HIV prevalence. Second, magnitude of the impact appears sizable. Third, a simple test suggests that the model does not have any major specification problem. Three additional aspects may also be interesting. First, the impact of per capita income is negative but statistically weak. Second, the effect of health expenditures lacks significance and does not carry the expected sign. Third, the proportion of population that is Muslim has a significantly negative association with HIV prevalence, perhaps reflecting the widely-shared view that male circumcision lowers acquisition of the disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on the argument in both economic and sociological literature that religion is conducive to children’s human capital formation, this paper provides a model of religious participation and explores a mechanism that “social capital” affects children’s education, a la Coleman [Coleman, J.S., 1988. Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology 94, S95–S120]. The model generates several interesting implications, which help explain some important stylized facts about education and religion. Further, in a dynamic setting, the model shows that there exists a steady state in which individuals allocate a positive amount of time and resources to religious activities. Thus, it complements the existing literature to explain why seemingly unproductive religions can be everlasting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Skill development involves important choices for individuals and school designers: should individuals and schools specialise, or should they aim for an optimal combination of skills? We analyse this question by employing mean–standard deviation analysis and show how cost structure, benefit structure and risk attitudes jointly determine the optimal investment strategy. With combined data from DOT and CPS, we establish an upward sloping mean–variance opportunity frontier in skills space. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The increased prevalence of border-crossing labour of various types makes an uneasy juxtaposition of the ‘local’ and the ‘transnational’ or the ‘global’ and raises two classes of questions. These concern, firstly, the definition of the local in local labour markets and, secondly, the role of state borders in regulating and shaping flows of border-crossing workers. The paper begins to explore these issues. It questions the conceptualisation and definition of local labour markets and outlines a case for transnational labour and state borders to be included in their theorisation. Following this, drawing on studies of recruitment and interviews with labour market actors on both sides of the Irish border it discusses how state borders impact on different types of labour in different circumstances and outlines the paradoxical and sometimes contradictory nature of state borders in labour regulation and employers'' strategies. It concludes by arguing that state borders might be moved from the edge of local labour market studies to a place much nearer their centre. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent economic research has investigated the extent to which involvement in school-sponsored clubs and sports constitutes human capital investment. Through instrumental variables, the existing literature focuses on identifying long-term impacts in terms of educational attainment and wages. Instead, I use a fixed effects strategy to test whether activity participation provides an immediate return to student learning. Independent of individual ability, I find that athletic participation is associated with a 2 percent increase in math and science test scores. Club participation is associated with a 1 percent increase in math test scores. Finally, involvement in either type of activity is associated with a 5 percent increase in Bachelor''s degree attainment expectations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Australian immigration policy, in common with the US and Canada, has increased the emphasis on skill-based selection criteria. A key premise of this policy is that skilled immigrants are more employable and can add to the productive capacity of the economy. However, this effect will be diminished if immigrants are working in occupations that fail to utilise their skills. We examine the extent of overeducation for recently arrived immigrants to Australia. We find that they are more likely to be overeducated than the native population, even if they enter on skill assessed visas. Overeducation is greater for immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) and generates lower returns to education. Tighter restrictions to welfare support on entry raised employment levels but increased overeducation. This will serve to reduce the potential productivity gains from skill biased immigration policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The match between a worker''s education and job has received much attention in the literature. Studies have focused on the match between years of schooling and the schooling required for the job, but the quantity of schooling is only one way to consider the match between schooling and jobs. This paper considers the relationship between college majors and occupations. Data from the National Survey of College Graduates are used to examine the extent to which workers report that their work activities unrelated to the college major. What degree fields lead to greater mismatch is explored as well as the effect on the returns to schooling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Manpower demand forecast is an essential component to facilitate manpower planning. The purpose of this paper is to establish a long-run relationship between the aggregate demand for construction manpower and a group of inter-related economic variables including construction output, wage, material price, bank rate and productivity, based on dynamic econometric modelling techniques. The Johansen co-integration procedure and the likelihood ratio tests indicate the existence of a long-run and stable relationship among the variables. A vector error correction (VEC) model is then developed for forecasting purposes and is verified against various diagnostic statistical criteria. The construction output and labour productivity are found to be the most significant and sensitive factors determining the demand of construction manpower. The model and the factors identified may assist in predicting manpower demand trend and formulating policies, training and retraining programmes tailored to deal effectively with the industry''s labour resource requirements in this critical sector of economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We determine how much observed student performance in microeconomics principles can be attributed, inferentially, to three kinds of student academic “productivity,” the instructor, demographics, and unmeasurables. The empirical approach utilizes an ordered probit model that relates student performance in micro to grades in prior coursework, demographic information, instructor characteristics, and SAT scores. The micro grade is somewhat informative about general productivity but conveys little information about the most refined type of academic productivity or instructor grading standards, although there is great variation in the average grades given by different instructors. Because of a large unpredictable component of grade determination, however, differences in micro performance across individuals are mostly attributable to non-productivity related factors. As a result, it is very difficult to improve the information individual grades provide about student productivity. Averages of several grades, however, can provide useful information about the productivity of students and the effectiveness of instructors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: The Programa Nacional de Becas Estudiantiles is a conditional cash transfer program designed to promote human capital accumulation and reduce poverty among Argentine youth. This study follows a 1999 cohort of students for five years and uses matching methods with a comparison group of students excluded due to quotas to estimate average and marginal program impacts. Multilevel methods are used to explore the role of program management and execution in explaining variation between schools in student outcomes. The results suggest that the Becas program improved students’ attendance and performance, in part through program conditions requiring good attendance and academic progress for continued scholarship receipt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present an explanation about the origins of monetary income inequality when an economically self-sufficient society opens to a market economy. The chain of associations runs from patience, to the accumulation of different forms of human capital, to self-selection into different occupations, and to the division of labor, which contributes to monetary income inequality. In a self-sufficient society, patience is exogenously determined and people rely on folk knowledge as the only form of human capital. With the establishment of schools, patient and impatient people sort themselves out by the type of human capital they begin to accumulate. Impatient people do not acquire folk knowledge because return to schooling takes many years to bear fruit. Schooling opens opportunities in occupations outside the village, whereas folk knowledge enhances employment opportunities that draw on farming or foraging. Self-selection into different occupations with different earnings potential spawns monetary income inequality. To test the explanation, we draw on data from a foraging–farming society in the Bolivian Amazon, the Tsimane''. We collected data during four consecutive quarters in 1999–2000 and a follow-up interview (2004). Data came from 151 adults (age, 16 years or more) from all households (n=48) in two villages with different levels of market exposure. During 1999–2000, impatience was associated with (a) greater folk knowledge and fewer years of schooling, (b) lower likelihood of working in wage labor, and (c) greater likelihood of working in rural subsistence occupations. People who had been patient in 1999–2000 had greater wage earnings and more modern physical assets in 2004. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]