Schools, skills and risk

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]