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This paper examines the impact, characteristics, and entrepreneurial proclivities of foreign-born college graduates in the United States. A significant body of research has found that immigrants are more likely to start businesses than those born in the U.S., and the propensity of international students to concentrate in STEM fields indicates enormous potential for economic contributions and innovation. Yet the static nature of the immigration system, with visa pathways and restrictions that discourage business creation, hamper the nation's ability to take full advantage of the benefits immigrants can provide. In fact, this study finds that the U.S. immigration system likely delays foreign-born graduates from creating incorporated firms by as many as five years. The authors estimate that the creation of 150,000 incorporated firms and 580,000 jobs were delayed between 2013 and 2021. Without reform, the U.S. will continue to depress high-value firm creation by international students and cease to be the primary destination of global talent.

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Finland. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of the Cedefop study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Sweden and Finland) and a final report. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Croatia. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of the Cedefop study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Sweden and Finland) and a final report. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in France. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of Cedefop's study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Finland and Sweden) and a final report. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Sweden. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of Cedefop's study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Sweden and Finland) and a final report. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Europe. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of Cedefop's study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET" and eight national case studies covering Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Finland and Sweden. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Spain. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research from Cedefop's study Entrepreneurship competence in VET. It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Finland and Sweden) and the forthcoming final report. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Austria. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the research of Cedefop's study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Sweden and Finland) and a final report. [Dmitrijs Kulšs was responsible for the publication and research conducted under the project. Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini Srl SB (FGB) was contracted for research and services.]

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Italy. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the pilot research of Cedefop's study "Entrepreneurship competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Sweden and Finland) and the forthcoming final report.

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in Latvia. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy-makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the pilot research of the Cedefop study "Entrepreneurship Competence in VET." It is part of a series of eight national case studies (Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Finland and Sweden) and a forthcoming final report.

Global university rankings influence students' choices and higher education policies throughout the world. When rankers not only evaluate universities but also provide them with consulting, analytics, or advertising services rankers are vulnerable to conflicts of interest that may potentially distort their rankings. The paper assesses the impact of contracting with rankers on university ranking outcomes using difference-in-difference research design. The study matches data on the positions of 28 Russian universities in QS World University Rankings between 2016 and 2021 with information on contracts these universities had for services from QS -- a company that produces these rankings. The study estimates the effects of the conflicts of interest with two difference-in-difference models. The first model compares the difference in five-year change in rankings between QS rankings and Times Higher Education (THE) rankings across two groups of universities -- those that frequently (five times or more) contracted for QS services, and those that never or seldomly contracted for QS services. The second model compares the difference in five-year change in faculty-student ratios -- between scores in QS rankings, THE rankings, and scores recorded by national statistics -- across the same two groups of universities. The results suggest universities with frequent QS-related contracts had an increase of 0.75 standard deviations (~140 positions) in QS World University Rankings and an increase of 0.9 standard deviations in reported QS faculty-student ratio scores over five years, regardless of changes in the institutional quality. The study calls for universities, governments, and prospective students to reconsider their use of global rankings where conflicts of interest may be generated by the ranker's business activities.

Postsecondary workforce development is one of the major innovations of the modern community college. In a workforce approach, curriculum is driven by the needs of local industry, course delivery systems are sufficiently flexible to meet the diverse needs of students and industry, and students experience a mixture of work-based and classroom learning. These features combine to help students succeed at a postsecondary education and gain important training with less than a four-year degree. This paper describes how community colleges came to be a major resource for the nation's workforce development requirements and discusses the ways this role continues to evolve to meet the needs of students, employers, and local communities. The authors conclude by identifying major trends that will inform the future of workforce development in the American community college. [This paper is based on a chapter in "13 Ideas That Are Transforming the Community College World," edited by Terry U. O'Banion and published by Rowman & Littlefield and the American Association of Community Colleges in March 2019.]

As a result of its direct link to the labour market, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) plays an important role in equipping the modern workforce with in-demand skills. This discussion paper aims to inspire the introduction of entrepreneurial learning in TVET towards a fully mainstreamed approach, whereby entrepreneurial learning is integrated into the role, function and delivery of TVET systems for the benefit of all learners. The paper provides insight into the different approaches to mainstreaming entrepreneurial learning and illustrates the contribution of the key pillars that make up the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem. This is supported by a series of practical examples from TVET systems around the world, illustrating how entrepreneurial learning is being transformed into reality by governments, TVET systems, communities, networks, institutions, teachers, trainers and TVET learners. This paper explores five elements of the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem: (1) Developing policy for entrepreneurial learning; (2) Curricula and pedagogies; (3) Supporting teachers and trainers; (4) Learning modes other than formal curricula; and (5) Career paths and start-ups.

Despite the widespread popularity of entrepreneurship education, there is thin evidence on its effectiveness in improving employment outcomes over the medium to long term. A potential time lag between entrepreneurial intentions and actions is sometimes presented as a reason why employment impacts are rarely observed. Based on a randomized control trial among university students in Tunisia, this paper studies the medium-term impacts of entrepreneurship education four years after students' graduation. The paper complements earlier evidence that documented small, short-term impacts on entry into self-employment and aspirations toward the future one year after graduation. The medium-term results show that the impacts of entrepreneurship education were short-lived. There are no sustained impacts on self-employment or employment outcomes four years after graduation. There are no lasting effects on latent entrepreneurship either, and the short-term increase in optimism also receded. [This paper is a product of the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice.]

Understanding the return on investment (ROI) in VET provides governments with information on the performance of the system and justification for public expenditure. It can help enterprises and individuals to measure productivity improvement in firms or to determine increases in the employability of individuals following training investment. However, the measurement of ROI is not straightforward. This report introduces a conceptual framework for defining what is involved in the ROI calculation and provides a guide to what type of information and data are required to calculate the returns to training for government, employers and individuals.

Scholars have developed a wide range of theories to explain both stability and change in policy subsystems. In recent years, a burgeoning literature has emerged that focuses on the application of network analysis in policy research, more formally known as Policy Network Analysis (PNA). This approach, while still developing, has great potential as an integrated theoretical framework that brings together multiple theories under a single conceptual paradigm. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how the insights of three other established policy theories--namely, the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Punctuated-Equilibrium theory (PET), and the Policy Entrepreneur Model (PEM)--may be augmented under a synthesis theory of policy networks to provide a more conceptually coherent theory of policymaking that may be useful for explaining periods of both stability and change.

Five areas essential to developing partnerships between the education systems and economies of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe were analyzed: (1) state and social partner roles in supporting links between education/training and the economy; (2) contribution of the world of work to education and training; (3) education/training to underpin economic growth processes; (4) supporting people at the interface between education/training and work; and (5) role of teacher training in linking education/training and the economy. Selected conclusions of the analysis were as follows: (1) correlation of human resource development strategies and employment strategies is essential to enlargement of the European Union; (2) the state should provide the policy and legislative framework to support links between education and the economy; (3) the economy should increasingly contribute to training so that training can become more responsive to labor market needs; (4) promotion of entrepreneurial skills, qualification of the work force by targeting continuing training, and promotion of regional development by tertiary educational institutions are important in promoting growth through education and training; (5) support of the transition from education/training to work must be improved; and (6) teachers' and trainers' capabilities to make learning relevant to labor market needs should be strengthened. (MN)

European countries have set themselves 22 specific goals by 2014 to support their long-term vision for vocational education and training (VET). This report is a first step in understanding progress by mid-2012 towards these goals, endorsed in 2010 in the Bruges communique to help achieve the Europe 2020 agenda. Attention has clearly focused on helping young people remain in, and return to, education and training through work-based learning routes. Building on their joint work in the last decade, countries have advanced in setting up qualifications frameworks and devising approaches to assure quality in VET, but much work is still in the planning stage. More attention to the professional development of VET staff, better monitoring of VET labour market outcomes, and considering incentives where appropriate, could help progress in the coming years. Appended are: (1) ECVET coordination points, EQF coordination points, EQAVET national reference points; and (2) Acronyms and definitions. (Contains 21 tables, 9 figures, 4 boxes and 26 footnotes.) [Additional support for this paper was provided by the the Copenhagen Working Group and the Cypriot Presidency.]

Increasing evidence shows that investing in social sector supply, service, and value chains has exponentially stronger development impact than investments in other sectors. There are often severely lacking social services such as child care, elder care, health care delivery, prescription drug distribution, home schooling, and private sector training. These areas serve people (even the poorest people) who are willing to pay for or make contributions towards the overall costs. Weak social systems are, as Elinor Ostrom describes them, "collective action problems" where a common pool of resources is needed with "polycentric small units nested in larger systems," i.e., within markets for social good there are needs for state-sponsored social systems, supporting services delivery enterprises, entrepreneurs who identify gaps and fill them through charity or investment, and workforce agencies and businesses that provide people with the skills needed to expand access, affordability, and employment in social sectors. (Contains 8 endnotes.) [For "Taking Workforce Initiatives to Scale: Workforce Initiatives Discussion Paper #2," see ED520198.]

Research universities throughout the world are part of a larger effort by nation-states to bolster science and technological innovation and compete economically. The US remains highly competitive as a source of High Tech (HT) innovation because of a number of market positions, many the result of long term investments in institutions such as research universities and in R&D funding, and more broadly influenced by a political culture that has tended to support entrepreneurs and risk taking. In essence, the US was the first mover in pursuing the nexus of science and economic policy. The following essay places universities within this larger political and policy environment by discussing market factors that have influenced knowledge accumulation and HT innovation in the US, their current saliency in the face of globalization, and the growing market position of competitors, such as the EU. The paper also provides observations on major US state-based HT initiatives intended to create or sustain Knowledge Based Economic Areas (KBEAs). Thirteen variables are used to assess the overall comparative ability for creating KBEAs, including the vitality of regional and national research universities, patterns of R&D investment, access to venture capital, intellectual property laws, educational attainment levels of the workforce, access and retention of global labor force, and political interest and forms of government support for promoting science and technology. Among the papers conclusions: There is a large disconnect in US policy related to promoting KBEAs and national competitiveness. Few policymakers, or even the higher education community are aware of stagnant and, in some states, real declines in higher education access and graduation rates relative to economic competitors, that the US is no longer a net importer of high tech goods, or that the US is no longer the number one destination for international students. Combined with global changes in the market for S&T talent, and the significant and increasingly successful effort of competitors to increase the educational attainment of their population, the US's HT advantage is eroding--although there remain a number of strengths, chiefly related to an entrepreneurial culture, more conducive tax advantages for business, a cadre of elite research universities, and the highest concentration of venture capital in the world. But even here, these advantages may wane over the next decade as the world becomes more economically, and educationally, competitive. The US generally lacks a broadly conceived strategy for retaining America's high tech advantage. "A Sample of the Frenzy of State Initiatives: 2007" is appended. (Contains 17 figures and 37 notes.) [A version of this working paper was presented at the OECD conference, "Globally Competitive, Locally Engaged: Higher Education and Regions" (Valencia, Spain, September 20, 2007).]

The current and still-evolving role of the American research university has been shaped by four key developments in the past sixty-five years: the historic decision to establish a comprehensive postwar federal science policy, described in Vannevar Bush's 1945 report, "Science, The Endless Frontier;" the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980; economic analyses from the 1950s onward that have validated the central role of knowledge in economic growth and influenced government and university policy on industry-university research; and various experiments with such research that have led to an increasing integration of research universities and industrial partners in the pursuit of innovation. Can American research universities continue to meet intensifying demands for innovation that advances regional, state, and national economic growth? This paper answers the question with a conditional yes. It describes the trend toward closer relations between universities and industry and how this trend is encouraging new ways of conducting scientific research and new forms of organization within the research university. It concludes with several recommendations for preserving the competitive advantage research universities contribute to American economic leadership: correcting our underinvestment in research in certain disciplines, such as the physical and social sciences; ensuring that federal support for research is sufficient to train graduate students in the numbers needed for national economic competitiveness and to encourage young faculty to pursue research projects with potential for innovative breakthroughs; and to make it easier for foreign-born students to remain in this country once they have earned advanced degrees in American universities. (Contains 18 endnotes.) [This report was prepared as the basis for Richard C. Atkinson's remarks at the Conference of Presidents of Academies and Scholarly Societies in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, March 14-17, 2010, Jerusalem, Israel.]

California has achieved considerable economic success through technological innovation and the formation of businesses based upon those technologies. This paper addresses some of the roles of universities in that success story. It starts with some measures of the contributions of innovation and a robust university structure to the California economy, drawn from the biotechnology and wine industries. This is followed by an exploration of some recent partnership structures involving universities with industry and/or the state government. Emphasis is on the University of California, since that is where the experience of the author lies. This is followed by considerations of how such partnerships can be most successful and at the same time meet concerns about potential undesirable consequences stemming from them. (Contains 38 notes.) [Paper prepared for Salzburg Seminar No. 441, "From Lab to Market: Accelerating Innovation through University, Business, and Government Partnership" (Salzburg, Austria, April 28-May 3, 2007).]

The convergence of US federal science and economic policy that began in earnest in the Reagan administration formed the first stage in an emerging post-Cold War drive toward technological innovation. A frenzy of new state-based initiatives now forms the Second Stage, further promoting universities as decisive tools for economic competitiveness. State governments have largely become the political environment in which new policy ideas are emerging, influenced by a sense of increased competition among states and other international economies for economic growth. The paper outlines the characteristics of this Second Stage, and offers short case studies of two influential HT initiatives in California--a leading HT state. Among the author's conclusions: HT economic activity is already relatively widespread among the various states (more so than perhaps previously thought); leading HT states rely heavily on their university sectors and a highly educated workforce, yet are increasingly importing talent and neglecting investment in the education and skills of their native populations; the long-term commitment of states to financially support the frenzy of HT initiatives is unclear; and state initiatives are rationalized by lawmakers as filling a need not currently met by the private sector or universities and, in part, as a response to a sense of competition between states, and thus far with only a minor concern for global competition. As this paper explores, the politics of HT--including the focus on university-industry collaboration and neo-conservative religious/moral controversies over stem cell research--is a significant factor for understanding how and why most states are pursuing the Second Stage. (Contains 6 figures and 55 notes.)

The object of this paper is to analyze the concepts of "entrepreneurship" and "entrepreneurial university" in the broader context of globalization, technological innovations and the emergence of knowledge-based and technology-driven economies. Instead of epistemological and organizational forms of knowledge production and dissemination, the universities today are required to play a protagonist role by training productive intellectual resource and generation of new knowledge that could be converted into wealth or social gains. They are no longer confined to teaching "about" entrepreneurship but are actively engaged in teaching "for" entrepreneurship. Instead of preparing their students for seamless path to work, the universities are required to prepare them for uncertainties, complexities and vulnerabilities in future. Besides highlighting some of the issues at stake, an attempt is made to understand the economics, philosophy and legality behind the whole idea of entrepreneurial universities in general and in India, in particular. The idea of social entrepreneurship is also introduced in the context of India. The methodology adopted is analytical, descriptive and empirical. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

School choice research mostly focuses on academic outcomes. Policymakers increasingly view entrepreneurial traits as a non-cognitive outcome important for economic growth. We use international PISA-2006 (Programme for International Student Assessment -2006) student-level data to estimate the effect of private-school competition on students' entrepreneurial intentions. We exploit Catholic-Church resistance to state schooling in 19th century as a natural experiment to obtain exogenous variation in current private-school shares. Our instrumental-variable results suggest that a 10 percentage-point higher private-school share raises students' entrepreneurial intentions by 0.3-0.5 percentage points (11-18 percent of the international mean) even after controlling for current Catholic shares, students' academic skills, and parents' entrepreneurial occupation. (Contains 6 tables and 8 footnotes.) [Partial funding for this research was provided by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.]

This paper stems from an evaluation of Turkey's first microcredit project aimed specifically at women, which was carried out with data derived through the Foundation for the Support of Women's Work (FFSW)'s Management Information System (which tracks credit users and repayment performance), application forms from women who applied for and received microcredit, records of meetings, and interviews with 27 of the 90 women who received microcredit. It tells the story of how FSWW created the idea of developing a microcredit project; describes project management, goals, and geographic areas involved in the project; profiles the project participants; and explains why the women need loans, what they spend them on, and how they cope with running a household and a business at the same time. Clear benefits from and barriers to the project are analyzed. The paper concludes by addressing these topics: some of the issues women face; outcomes for FSWW; what has been learned; what the FSWW experience can offer others in the field; and the future direction of FSWW in the field of microcredit. Appendices contain a list of project landmark dates and data tables. (KC)

This discussion paper explores interactions among formal learning, informal learning, and life conditions and opportunities experienced by aboriginal people in Canada. The contradictory importance of education for aboriginal people is examined with respect to three related aspects of these relationships. First, the paper summarizes students' accounts of their experiences in conventional and alternative school settings in three Saskatchewan communities, exploring how these relate to the students' broader cultural and home environments. Second, it examines the formal and informal educational experiences of a small group of adults surveyed in an urban Indian and Metis Friendship Center. Finally, the paper explores issues that arise around the emergence of entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurship, areas posed by many commentators as a possible way of bridging formal and informal learning and overcoming the longstanding marginalization of aboriginal people from labor market and economic participation. The paper concludes that gaps remain in the attainment of educational success by aboriginal people, relative to the general population, when viewed in terms of conventional educational indicators. However, the aboriginal youth and adults involved in the study place a high value in formal schooling, mainstream economic activities, and entrepreneurial opportunities to provide routes for individual and community advancement. The study suggests that the aboriginal peoples could benefit more if the educational system better integrated their skills and culture and acknowledged the strengths that the aboriginal people bring to learning. (The paper lists 40 references.) (KC)

A multinational, multidisciplinary team examined the impact of globalization on education, training, and small and medium sized enterprise development in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The study focused on the following issues: developing a learner-led competitiveness approach; building learning enterprises; education for microenterprises and macroeconomic growth; and training for self-employment and competitiveness. The study documented the importance of learning-led competitiveness and identified obstacles to development of learning enterprises in all three countries. The following are among the 12 recommendations offered to national governments and international agencies with development concerns: (1) insert learning-led competitiveness into development debates; (2) understand the implications of globalization better; (3) address the range of barriers to development of learning enterprises; (4) consider interenterprise linkages and the role of learning therein; (5) place learning-led competitiveness at the heart of small enterprise development policy; (6) broaden the universal primary education vision; (7) construct a curriculum for competitiveness; (8) improve public training's ability to support competitive self-employment; (9) empower training providers to be more market responsive; and (10) emphasize skills transfer from large to small firms. (The bibliography lists 139 references. Brief profiles and addresses of the research team members and a list of project papers are appended.) (MN)

This paper proposes a framework for developing a national rural development policy in Australia. Some common relevant misconceptions are that rural Australia and rural Australians are peripheral to the national economy and the nation's future, that farmers and farming communities are the alpha and omega of rural Australia, and that whatever is best for the agricultural industry is also best for rural Australia as a whole. These misconceptions about rurality have resulted in public policies and programs that overlook the needs of the nonfarm population, the majority of Australia's rural population. Three major forms of government intervention--industry support policies and subsidies, government-supplied income for individuals, and social policies and programs--have not been sufficient to ensure a secure and prosperous rural future. The present rural crisis involves the radical decoupling of the fate of primary industries from the fate of traditional primary producers; the unwillingness of government to seriously support rural Australia's latent economic diversity; and complacency that has allowed the long-standing combination of industrial and social policies/programs to function as a de facto rural development strategy. A new rural development policy should give priority to a growing rural population base, ensure that rural people and communities reap an equitable share of the rewards derived from rural resources, account for a growing and diversifying rural economic base, encourage a growing rural employment base, strive for improved quality of rural life, and develop stronger, more cohesive rural communities. Key alliances within and across rural communities, between rural communities and governments, between the public and private sectors, and across the urban-rural divide will be important in initiating activities involving empowerment, environment, entrepreneurship, and education. Contains 90 references. (LP)

A study investigated the impact of training on women's micro-enterprise development in four programs in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Sudan. Research design was a series of case studies of projects and programs providing training in technical or business skills. Impact of training was measured against these four indicators: income, access to and control of resources, status, and quality of life. The study examined the training process to find out in what specific ways training helped women to improve and expand their micro-enterprises. The sample in each country consisted of two groups: women about to undergo training (focus of the study) and women who had already received training; 74 women participated. The study showed poor women needed training to develop skills and self-confidence to allow them to operate and survive in the informal sector; access to credit is important but not sufficient for the poorest women; the impact of training and increased income varied in strength but could be negative as well as positive; well-designed and well-delivered training could lead to increased income that could lead to improved self-esteem and status in the household and community; effectively delivered training developed enhanced survival strategies in women; training provided to groups in a participatory model was an empowering and liberating experience for women; and training in generic business skills was more effective than training in technical skills. (Appendixes include 61 references.) (YLB)

In 1997-1999, the Department of Agriculture, Resource, and Managerial Economics of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences conducted an entrepreneurship education and outreach program that was based on the Premier FastTrac Curriculum, which is a model delivery tool for entrepreneurship education. In 1997-1998, the program was actively promoted throughout New York. Of the approximately three dozen community entities that originally expressed interest in becoming licensed for FastTrac training, five obtained licenses and one conducted a pilot training course but never became organized enough to apply for a license. Together, the sites produced 58 program graduates in 1997-1998 (335 graduates had been projected). The program was evaluated in July 1998, and prospective candidates who had not actively pursued becoming affiliated with FastTrac training sites were interviewed by phone in December 1998. Data from the evaluation and the interviews, and a review of other studies and literature were used to develop a proposal for meeting the challenges uncovered during the evaluation and development of an effective small business education to serve New York's diverse communities. Appended is a case study of why the attempt to develop of an entrepreneurship program in Tompkins County, New York, failed. (MN)

An Australian study examined the relationship between current and past participation in education and training in small business and success or failure and how small businesses decide how to improve knowledge and skills. Telephone surveys were conducted with 181 small businesses in 4 industries in 3 metropolitan and 3 non-metropolitan regions. Findings indicated almost a third of the sample had an employee or owner attend a relevant course in the last 12 months; the largest group of courses attended were technical/production-related vocational education and training (VET); more than a third of the sample had undertaken on-the-job training; more than 80 percent found informal learning sources useful; about half had owners or employees with VET qualifications as their highest qualifications; owners' most common way of learning about their new business was experience or trial and error; successful owners were no more likely to have attended a course at the time they started in the businesses; there were few relationships between business success and recent participation in education and training; businesses that participated in on-the-job training were more likely to be successful; the most frequently given prompt for training was a general desire to improve efficiency; the most frequent reason for choosing a training or learning source was that it provided learning relevant to the business; and successful businesses were likely to be prompted to learn or train. (Contains 27 references.) (YLB)

The first and longest section of this publication is a comparative analysis summarizing the impacts of the two Unemployment Insurance (UI) Self-Employment Demonstration Projects in Washington State and Massachusetts. Based on the first wave of post-project follow-up surveys, this evaluation report provides results on the net impacts of each project on the following: business formation and survival rates; participants' employment and earnings from both self-employment and wage and salary employment; participants' duration of unemployment and receipt of UI benefits; and job creation. In the Washington and Massachusetts demonstrations, self-employment assistance promoted rapid reemployment of project participants, directly increased job creation, and significantly increased participants' total employment. One additional result is reported for the Massachusetts demonstration: self-employment assistance significantly increased total earnings of participants. The second part of the publication focuses on the recent national legislation authorizing self-employment assistance (SEA) programs. This section includes the text of the legislation itself, North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act SEA Programs, and a Department of Labor program letter providing guidance to the states in developing their SEA program. A listing of 80 papers in the UI Occasional Paper Series is appended. (YLB)

This publication is a companion volume to a research report that examined local, national, and international interventions and initiatives aimed at promoting education and training for the informal sector. It provides four case studies on types of initiatives being taken by a wide range of actors in the area of education and training. "Ghana" (Osei Boeh-Ocansey) addresses how the government realizes that employment opportunities in the formal sector of the economy will continue to be limited; therefore, educational reforms are now emphasizing the acquisition of skills that promote self-employment and entrepreneurship. "Kenya" (Henry Oketch) reviews strategies that individuals, the government, and nonprofit organizations are using to improve skills in the informal sector. It identifies nine different types of agencies or processes providing skills for self-employment. "India" (Keith D'Souza, Liza Thomas) focuses on the activities of four nongovernmental organizations working in the field of nonformal education in the state of Gujarat. Their emphasis is on capacity building rather than on employment generation or job skill development. "Chile" (Graciela Messina) compares two training programs for unemployed youth to develop a series of reflections on the role that training for the informal sector ought to play. It concludes that the government is more concerned with employment policies than with training policies. (YLB)

This report presents results of a study that examined local, national, and international interventions and initiatives aimed at promoting education and training for the informal sector. Chapter 1 offers a rationale for the research. Chapter 2 considers how the formal education system currently affects the informal sector and how in future it might have greater influence. The focus of chapter 3 is on training that takes place in centers outside the worlds of school and work, but that owes something in character to both. It addresses nonformal education, the vocational training system, rural training, and nongovernmental organization-organized training. Chapter 4 considers training within enterprises, both in the formal and informal sector. It argues that changes in formal sector-based training practices can also have an indirect impact on the informal sector. Then, it discusses existing models of training that have been generated within the informal sector and interventions that attempt to develop appropriate modern models. Chapter 5 focuses on training of women in the informal sector and presents findings on the training needs of women. Chapter 6 considers the extent to which education and training need to be complemented by other interventions to be effective components in preparation for self-employment and describes pathways to self-employment. Contains 255 references. (YLB)

The main parameters of state self-employment assistance (SEA) programs for unemployed workers were tested in two experimental demonstrations authorized by the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The Washington State and Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance (UI) Self-Employment Demonstrations evaluated the ability of the employment security and economic development systems to work together and help UI recipients create their own jobs by starting businesses. The classical experimental design randomly assigned applicants to either a treatment or a control group. Design differences between the two demonstrations were a requirement in the Massachusetts authorizing legislation that eliminated those with a low predicted probability of exhausting UI benefits and eligibility of Washington participants to receive a lump-sum payment of remaining benefits. The demonstrations were initiated in six Washington and seven Massachusetts sites. Relatively few new UI claimants in both states chose to pursue self-employment when the opportunity arose. Findings from a follow-up survey approximately 31 months after assignment in Massachusetts and approximately 33 months in Washington, indicated that both demonstrations increased the likelihood of self-employment, increased the total time in employment, and reduced the length of unemployment. Both programs were cost effective from the nonparticipant and government perspectives. (Appendixes include definitions of independent variables, significant coefficients, and effects on subgroups.) (YLB)

The Washington State Self-Employment and Enterprise Demonstration (SEED) was the first federally sponsored self-employment demonstration program for unemployed workers in the United States. Its primary purpose was to determine the viability of self-employment as a reemployment option for recipients of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits who do not have immediate job prospects. The SEED Demonstration was implemented in six sites, representing both rural and urban areas of Washington, from September 1989 through March 1991. It was implemented as a classical experiment, in which eligible program applicants were randomly assigned either to a treatment group (N=755) or to a control group (N=752). Those assigned to the treatment group were offered business startup training, a waiver of the UI work search requirement, and periodic payments equal to their regular UI benefits. Those who achieved all project requirements were also eligible for a lump-sum payment equal to their remaining UI benefits. Interim impacts were based on data from a follow-up telephone survey approximately 21 months after assignment. Results indicated the SEED Demonstration dramatically increased the likelihood of being self-employed (by 25 percentage points), accelerated entry into self-employment (by 6 months), and increased earnings from self-employment (by about $3,000). It delayed reemployment in a wage and salary job (by 1 month) and reduced earnings from such jobs (by about $2,500). (An appendix defines independent variables.) (YLB)

Apprenticeship is the main avenue to self-employment in micro-enterprises and thus a cornerstone of informal sector development in West Africa. Survey results for Ibadan, Lome, Dakar, Niamey, and other cities demonstrate that apprenticeship as practiced by informal sector artisans is often very similar from one country to the next. Dropout rates are estimated at 20-25%. Micro-enterprises involved in apprenticeable trades produce, on average, one "graduate" per year. Apprenticeship is not only for young men. Females apprentice in female-dominated trades. Survey data confirm that apprentices tend to be better educated than their masters. A majority select their trade because it was something they had always wanted to do. Masters are often selected because they are relatives or family acquaintances. Costs of apprenticeship vary considerably among and within trades and from one country to another depending on demand and whether the master is a relative. Apprenticeship usually takes 3 or 4 years, and working hours are long. Apprentices learn primarily by watching their master and being "corrected" when they err. Usually, masters follow a training plan. Apprentices learn technical skills as well as management and organization skills. Three of four apprentices state they want to create their own establishment; many seek wage employment at first. Intervention options should include measures aimed at apprentices or at masters. (Appendixes include 10 statistical tables.) (YLB)

A research project in the Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Tanzania evaluated the cost effectiveness of management training seminars for women entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Women, a large and growing part of entrepreneurs, had less access to needed resources, skills, and information than men. Reasons for failure to study the cost effectiveness and efficiency of development assistance included lack of clear concepts, methodologies, and standards. Grassroots management training seminars were conducted for businesswomen operating established informal sector businesses. In each country, 40 businesswomen were selected; some were assigned to a control group. A set of indicators was developed to measure benefits. Levels of criteria considered in evaluating outcomes were reaction, learning, behavioral, and result. Impact of the training program was assessed by applying this set of indicators and comparing pre- and postseminar values. Findings indicated that participants appreciated acquisition of management skills, had a more favorable attitude toward learning and the importance of management know-how to improve business, and acquired cognitive skills. Behavioral changes were reflected in the application of acquired skills and knowledge through business expansion by at least one-third of participants in each country. They improved or stabilized their businesses. Benefits to participants exceeded costs in all three countries. (Appendixes include 29 references, a summary of seminar content, and data tables.) (YLB)

A survey on education and training for work in micro-enterprises was conducted in Lome, Togo in 1989. Data were collected through a number of sample surveys, structured interviews with owner-operators of enterprises, from apprentices, and through "cameo" studies by local collaborators for each activity covered in the study. Results of the research show that the informal sector is a vigorous part of the economy in Lome. It is largely the outcome of training from within, usually in the form of traditional apprenticeship. Micro-entrepreneurs follow different paths to self-employment, but education and apprenticeship are increasingly the first two steps in their careers. These business people possess a wide variety of technical and other skills not usually acquired in schools. Educational levels of entrepreneurs and apprentices have steadily increased over the years. Length of schooling, itself determined by sex, year of birth, and family background, explains to some extent choice of trade, use of technology, relative success, and interest in further training. About 15 percent of the Lome labor force receive apprenticeship training. Women in the system have fewer educational and training opportunities and fewer trades from which to choose. The study concluded that intervention to improve the apprenticeship system should be approached cautiously, if at all, making sure that help is wanted and that it improves a relatively successful system. (Fifteen tables and 11 charts are included in the report. Appendixes include the survey methodology, activity reports and statistics, the research team and their responsibilities, and 10 references.) (KC)