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This document addresses the benefits that area created by the Hillsborough Community College for the Tampa Bay economy and the State of Florida. The study addresses four types of benefits: (1) contributions to job and income formation; (2) higher earnings captured by existing students; (3) a broad collection of social benefits (improved health, reduced crime, lower welfare, and unemployment); and (4) the return to the taxpayers for their community college support. The results of the study on these benefits areas are as follows: (1) by educating students and adding them to the local workforce, the HCC instruction adds $683.7 million in annual earnings to the Tampa Bay economy; (2) for every credit completed, the average student will earn $143 more per year; and (3) the money spent by the state government on education is beneficial to the taxpayers since people with higher education are less likely to abuse substances, use welfare or unemployment benefits, and commit crimes. The document gives much more evidence regarding the benefits of the HCC and concludes that the HCC is a great investment from a variety of perspectives. The college expands the minds of students, reduces demands for social services, and contributes to state and local economies. (MZ)

This paper identifies important knowledge gaps in adult education and training (AET) in Canada and starts to explore strategies to fill these gaps. Following an introduction in English and French, each of the next three sections is comprised of a review of the current state of knowledge on three topics (outcomes of adult learning, motivations and barriers to adult learning, and informal learning) and a discussion of major knowledge gaps relevant to each. Section 2, on outcomes, argues that more must be known about outcomes in terms of overall benefits and costs if the adequacy of AET in Canada is to be judged. Section 3, on motivations and barriers, reports that key knowledge gaps include understanding reasons for participation and non-participation, and assessing whether individual decisions to participate or not are somehow unwarranted because they do not fully reflect associated costs and benefits. The section also argues that increasing knowledge of barriers to AET is a complementary strategy to estimating rates of return in the process of judging the adequacy of training levels in Canada and is essential in design of specific policy actions towards the pursuit of equity goals. Distribution considerations are addressed. Section 4 discusses issues related to informal learning and questions whether informal training is the optimal way for some groups to acquire new skills. Section 5 situates the issue of AET in the context of a strategy of human capital investment and provides a sense of what research priorities should be. Appendixes contain a statistical portrait of AET in Canada; summaries of major Canadian surveys of AET; and 48-item bibliography. (YLB)

U.S. citizens can get two to three times the educational and employment benefits now being obtained if all government funding for youth and adult basic education and job skills training is required to be directed to two investment strategies. The first is to increase intergenerational transfer of cognitive skills. Evidence from studies suggests that focusing funds on the education of the children's parents will lead to better educated, more employable parents, and more educable children. Findings are the following: (1) better educated parents produce better educated children; (2) the parents', and especially the mother's, education level is one of the most important determinants of school participation and achievement; and (3) better educated adults demand and get better schooling for children. The second strategy is to teach using a functional context education approach to instructional design. Studies indicate that workplace literacy programs increase productivity not only at work, but also at home and in the community and schools, and that better educated adults produce safer communities conducive to learning. Youth and adult education and employment training programs should be required to obtain accountability data on the extent to which their programs improve adult participation in programs, improve achievement in functional context programs, improve prevention of future learning problems of adult students' children, and show how "double duty dollars" are being obtained. (Contains 21 footnotes.) (YLB)

The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:93) tracks the experiences of a cohort of recent college graduates, those who received the baccalaureate degree during the 1992-93 academic year and were first interviewed as part of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. The experiences of this group in the areas of academic enrollment, degree completion, employment, public service, and other adult decisions will be followed for about 12 years. Ultimately the B&B:93 will provide data about the outcomes of postsecondary education and rates of return of investment in education. This report presents information on the field test that was conducted in the summer of 1996 in preparation for the main study scheduled for April 1997. The field test was designed as a full-scale dress rehearsal and included the 1,850 eligible baccalaureate degree recipients from the B&B:93/94 field test. The field test was designed to: (1) assess the quality of the survey instrument; (2) examine the efficiency of the systems; and (3) test and refine data collection procedures. The report discusses each of these areas to provide a basis for improved data collection and analysis in the full-scale survey. Seven appendixes discuss the case management system, list technical review panel members, and describe the instrument, a flowchart, a cover letter, and some reinterview items. (Contains 13 figures and 22 tables.) (SLD)

More of Britain's young people finish formal schooling earlier than in most other industrialized countries. This lack of formal educational attainment is not offset by higher than average vocational training in later years. The low level of education and training is not primarily the result of supply constrains, but is caused by a low level of demand for post-compulsory education among young people and employers. The demand for skilled labor is rising significantly faster than the demand for unskilled labor. The financial returns to postcompulsory education and training are mixed. Obtaining a degree or high vocational qualification generally enhances lifetime earning, but low-level vocational qualifications provide only a modest return. The role of family background and cultural factors is important. The higher the head of household's educational attainments and occupational status, the more likely a young man is to stay on to the advanced level. Although returns to education are higher for young people from less skilled households than they are for those from more skilled backgrounds, the demand of the less skilled for additional education is low. Policy can assist in increasing the levels of skills acquired. Coordination of the entire postcompulsory education and training system is essential. Young people will pursue training only if employers encourage them through their recruitment and wage policies. Reforms of vocational training should concentrate on skills that are valued in the workplace. Improved career guidance should present the lifetime earnings prospects from acquiring different qualifications. (YLB)

Investments in schooling are often regarded as essential for economic development, implying that such investments have high rates of return in developing countries. This paper examines the accuracy and usefulness of estimates of rates of return to formal schooling based on the standard human capital model of G. Becker and J. Mincer. Focus is on whether failure to account for differences in ability and school quality across a random sample significantly biases estimates of the private return to schooling derived from estimates of wage equations. This is done using an unusually rich data set from Ghana (over 4,700 households), which includes tests of ability and cognitive skills administered to 389 survey respondents. When years of schooling are used to measure the accumulation of human capital, there are virtually no returns to schooling in the private sector. Replacement of years of schooling by reading and mathematical ability does show positive returns to acquired skills, although these rates may be of little use to governments making schooling investment decisions because of the complexity of such decisions. Many government investments in education are designed to raise rates of return to schooling by raising school quality, but decisions by individuals assume that both rates of return and school quality are exogenous. Thirteen tables present data from the analyses. Four appendices provide supplemental data concerning the calculation of rates of return. (SLD)

The individual results to vocational education and training qualifications (VET) and the implications thereof for lifelong learning were examined by analyzing data from Australia's 1997 Survey of Education and Training. Private rates of return to various VET qualifications for individuals were calculated by using the internal rate of return, which is the discount rate equating the stream of incremental income from education and training with its costs. Wage regression equations were estimated to explain the full-time wages of male and female employees separately. The following were among the key conclusions: (1) individuals who complete VET qualifications generally receive higher wages than similar individuals who do not complete VET; (2) the wage effects of completing VET qualifications are higher for males than for females; (3) wages vary by VET qualification level; (4) VET qualifications provide continuing benefit to individuals throughout their careers; (5) VET study that does not lead to a qualification may have little effect on wages; (6) returns to VET qualifications are highest for those who work full time and study part time, while undertaking their course; and (7) lifelong learners who work full time and study part time enjoy modest, positive returns for further VET qualifications. Regression results and variable definitions are appended. (Contains 48 references, 30 endnotes, and 6 tables.) (MN)

This paper reviews the factors and mechanisms that have been driving inequality in Mexico and finds that educational inequality accounts for by far the largest share of Mexico's variation in earnings inequality. More specifically, it examines the expansion in earnings inequality with emphasis on the role of education, establishes an analytical framework that permits analysis of the interaction between education and the labor market, and examines the evolution of earnings inequality in light of the macroeconomic and educational policies that followed in the 1980s and 1990s. The contribution of inequality of education to inequality of earnings in Mexico is the second highest in Latin America, after Brazil, and the significance of education has been increasing over time. Moreover, the income effect is always prevalent, and the distribution of education is highly significant even after controlling for changes in other relevant variables, such as age, economic sector, region, and labor market status. The increase in earnings inequality, however, does not appear to be the result of a worsening in the distribution of education, although the income profile, which is related to the returns to schooling, has become much steeper. This means that the shift in demand toward high-skilled labor has not been matched by an increase in supply. The probable reason is that the Mexican economy's increased openness has facilitated the transmission of skill-biased technological change. (Contains 21 tables, 33 notes, 3 annexes, and 51 references.) (Author/BT)

Recent Australian and overseas studies on evaluation of enterprises' return on training investment (ROTI) were reviewed to identify key issues in encouraging increased evaluation of training benefits by enterprises and successful approaches that may inform future "enterprise-friendly" studies of ROTI. It was concluded that more practical, creative, and cost-effective approaches to determining ROTI are needed so as to encourage more enterprises of all sizes to conduct their own ROTI studies. The following were among the recommendations emerging from the review: (1) adopt a broad definition of training that incorporates all forms of learning and skill formation; (2) use the term ROTI when evaluating enterprise returns from training rather than the narrower quantitative term "return on investment"; (3) develop and use ROTI approaches that provide decision makers with timely, useful, and accessible qualitative and quantitative evidence of the contribution of training to enterprises' operational and strategic priorities; and (4) focus on using existing enterprise data. More than 50 possible training outcomes were identified under the following headings: productivity and efficiency; sales and profitability; quality of products and services; customer service and satisfaction; occupational health and safety; organizational learning and development; and organizational climate and practices. (Contains 54 references.) (MN)

The purpose of this document is to share various approaches used by federal agencies to assess needs and measure training effectiveness. The emphasis in the descriptions is on the evaluation process rather than on the results. One program was evaluated by employing return-on-investment (ROI) data and using volunteer line personnel who conducted the course to gather and diagnose the results with participants. Various control groups were used to assess success of another program. Data, which were manipulated by a computer program, revealed the relationship between training and job performance for another study. One course was evaluated by means of an employee in-course evaluation and a supervisory on-job performance evaluation 4 to 6 months after the course. Tracking monthly reports and interviewing managers at quarterly intervals to ascertain the extent of the implementation of features taught during a particular course were additional evaluation techniques used. A semi-structured group interview evaluation process produced specific examples of changes resulting from specific training. A generic follow-up evaluation method, the Participant Action Plan Approach (PAPA), determines the extent of behavioral change after a training course. It was used in conjunction with questionnaires and personal interviews to assess if specific changes were actually implemented as a result of training. (HFG)

This paper examines the causes for deteriorating school enrollment rates in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in primary education and especially for girls. The prevalent view that deterioration in school availability and quality are responsible for declining school enrollments in many African countries seems incomplete. Several studies suggest that a household sends children to school because education costs are offset by higher future earnings associated with higher educational attainment. There are direct costs, such as school fees, and opportunity costs, such as the earnings relinquished because the child is not working. Therefore, declining incomes and employment opportunities impact on household demand for education. The policy response to declining enrollments should not be restricted to building more schools and improving existing ones. Cost-reducing and demand-stimulating measures should be considered as well. Analytical tools can help policymakers assess which costs and benefits of education impact on household schooling decisions. Three studies of household demand for education in Ivory Coast and Tanzania are reviewed, which use very data-intensive regression analyses. A simpler, private rates of return analysis is suggested to identify constraining factors in educational demand. An appendix presents a detailed examination of primary school enrollments and opportunity costs in Madagascar from a gender perspective. Nineteen tables present data on school enrollment, return on investment in education by level and region, and time spent on various chores and employment activities. (Contains 81 references.) (TD)

A study evaluated the labor market outcomes of individuals with various types of postsecondary educational experiences. In particular, it examined differences among three groups: students who pursued technical education programs; those who pursued academic programs; and those individuals who did not pursue any type of postsecondary education. The study used empirical evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of High School Students in 1972 concerning the relationship between economic outcomes and grades earned and the degree to which the labor market rewarded credentials. Wages and earning models yielded different structural parameter estimates when based on the three different populations. The differences were most dramatic for high school background effects and for postsecondary characteristics. The empirical results from the technique used to correct for self-selection suggested that individuals' choices among the three postsecondary tracks were not the result of absolute advantage. (Contains 16 references.) (YLB)

A study in Georgia evaluated the pre-program to post-program changes in employment, earnings, and welfare dependency for the 6,693 Title II-A adults that occurred between application and participant follow-up 13 weeks after leaving the state's Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program during the 1989-90 program year. Findings revealed significant evidence that JTPA receives a meaningful return on the resources invested in the training. Some specific results are the following: (1) adults experienced increased employment, shifting from 83 percent unemployed at application to 65 percent employed 13 weeks after leaving the program; (2) clients experienced reductions in welfare program participation, dropping from 26 percent at application to 16 percent 13 weeks after leaving the program; (3) aggregate earnings of the 6,693 participants rose 587 percent, from $138,150 per week at application to $949,470 13 weeks after leaving the program; (4) food stamp usage was reduced from 38 percent at application to 24 percent 13 weeks after leaving the program; and (5) costs of the program should be repaid in approximately one and one-half years through reduced welfare costs and taxes paid by former participants. (KC)

Education in general and specific educational projects fit into the construct of the allocation of investment resources that is basic to economic theory. Two techniques of computing returns to education and education projects are benefit-cost ratios and rates of return, which both rely on measuring costs and benefits. While measuring costs is relatively easy, measuring benefits is difficult because of the problems of identifying benefits and isolating benefits stemming from specific programs, trying to measure social versus private returns, the need to use experience to predict future income levels, and the marginal nature of calculations. The manpower approach is often suggested as a substitute method, but because it solves the problems of the other two techniques by ignoring them, its difference is illusory. The techniques are actually successive approaches to computing the returns to education and educational projects. The unique nature of non-formal education and the lack of clear definition of intended results cause problems in the measurement of program output. Further, the potential of economic theory with respect to non-formal education in the rural sector is discouraging because of the lack of cash wages among peasants, lack of record keeping, and difficulty of determining the effect of one new skill among many. (SB)

A system designed to evaluate investment in Ohio's vocational education programs is described in this monograph which also serves as the system manual. Major features emphasized are (1) the system enables calculation of rate of return and of present value of investment in the training of an individual in a vocational program, when education is viewed as both an investment good and a consumption good and (2) it is a dynamic system requiring data input and updating via punched cards; an adaptation of available data may substitute as approximation of ideal data. The system's analytical framework is described in terms of definitions of criteria and of rate of return when vocational education is regarded as an investment. Steps used in the computerized system to calculate the evaluation measures are listed in a separate section that also lists data and data sources. The seven-section appendix contains procedures for keying operational and information material including descriptions of subprograms for calculations relating to steps shown in the Program Procedure, geographical and taxonomy codes, and data formats. (CP)

A study was conducted to design a set of procedures for complying with the federal mandate for an employer followup of vocational education students. Procedures, designed on the basis of existing literature and federal guidelines, were pilot tested in two ways--one local-program based, the other local-program and state-agency based. The two methods of data collection were compared for rate of return reliability and cost effectiveness. Sample groups included local education agencies, vocational-technical schools, and postsecondary institutions with approved vocational education programs. A low participation rate by schools and a set of comments on the survey by participating and nonparticipating schools suggested that local vocational educators viewed the survey as an imposition not offset by achieved results. Fewer students were followed up in Pilot One than in Pilot Two. This indicated a possible lack of enthusiasm by Pilot One schools. Results also demonstrated when local vocational educators contacted employers they obtained a higher rate of response. When based on the universe slated for followup, however, the response rate was higher for state-level followup. There was little significant difference between the two pilots when compared for cost effectiveness. (Attachments include correspondence and survey instruments.) (YLB)

Training managers increasingly are being asked to document the cost effectiveness of their programs. A cost-benefit analysis program was implemented at the Anchor Hocking Corporation that may be useful for other organizations. The cost-benefit analysis at Anchor Hocking is part of the training system design. The complete training system design model includes the following: (1) needs identification/forecasting; (2) needs analysis; (3) anticipated cost-benefit evaluation; (4) performance objectives and savings base design; (5) data gathering; (6) course design; (7) implementation of training; (8) data gathering; (9) on-the-floor follow-up; (10) actual return-on-investment calculation; and (11) retraining/revision. Although these steps are listed chronologically, they are often performed simultaneously. This approach has worked well for Anchor Hocking, and components of the model can be used by other organizations to develop their own cost-benefit analysis. (KC)