"The initial occupational placements of male immigrants in the U.S. labor market vary significantly by country of origin even when education and other factors are taken into account. Does the heterogeneity persist over time? Using data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 U.S. Censuses, this study...

This report presents a framework - Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP), that provides a simple yet comprehensive way to look at skills development. It brings together research evidence and practical experience from a range of areas-from research on the determinants of early...

Changes in demographics and patterns of investment in human capital are creating opportunities for international trade in professional services. As populations in rich countries age, developing countries are seeing an increase in the proportion of working-age people. At the same time, the...

There is growing interest, worldwide, in the link between education systems and the production of skills that are valued in the labor market. With growth stagnating and unemployment soaring in much of the world, educators are being asked to focus more on producing skills that feed into labor...

Bulgaria implemented sweeping decentralization and efficiency-focused reforms in basic education in 2007 and 2008. The education system adjusted to the negative demographic trends by optimizing the network of schools (closing and merging schools), introducing per-capita based financing and...

The global economy has become increasingly complex and competitive. Many countries have turned to knowledge-based growth to transition from labor-intensive sectors to new and emerging economic activities that require higher skills and intellectual capital. In Thailand, higher education...

This review provides a discussion of challenges faced by Romania as a results of reforms, policy changes, growth in enrollment, among others, and provides policy options on how to tackle them. The review focuses on the higher education sector as a whole and how it is managed as a system by the...

The Government of Poland benefits from a Technical Assistance Activity in support of the reforms under way in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. This Technical Assistance accompanies Development Policy Loans financed by the World Bank; its activities have been identified jointly by...