Early school-leaving is considered to be one of the major problems in Dutch education. In order to reduce the number of dropouts in the school year 2006-2007 the Dutch government has offered a financial incentive scheme to 14 out of 39 regions. This scheme provides a reward of 2000 euro per...

In this paper we analyse the consequences of replacing government subsidies with a graduate tax (GT) or income contingent loan (ICL) system for the financing of higher education. Both these systems are directed towards solving capital and insurance market failures. We constructed an empirically...

Increases in inequality between low and high-skilled workers are likely to affect welfare state policies in upcoming decades. Demand for redistribution puts pressure on marginal income-tax rates and other social security measures. We come to this conclusion by confronting expected supply and...

This report surveys the recent literature on human capital and productivity. Recent studies suggest that the right-hand side of the skill distribution is important for productivity, especially in countries that already have a high level of productivity. An empirical analysis of the Dutch skill...

Knowledge policy is widely considered to be an important subject. The Dutch government conducts intensive policy on the foundations of the knowledge economy: education, research and innovation. <span style="color: #000000;">In the literature and in policy circles, proposals for additional knowledge policies or reforms of...</span>

This paper reviews arguments for government interference in the education sector and discusses the effectiveness of commonly used policy instruments. There are both efficiency and equity reasons for government intervention. Particular attention is paid to education spillovers (an efficiency...

Skill gaps are widely seen as a problem that lowers aggregate productivity growth. A question for the European Commission is whether and how governments should take action with education and training policies to reduce skill gaps and make Europe the best performing region in the world....

Economic growth is ultimately driven by advances in productivity. In turn, productivity growth is driven by R&D and by utilisation of the public knowledge pool. This public knowledge pool is generated by universities and public research institutions. Underutilisation by firms of results from...

This paper evaluates the effects of a special program designed to increase school enrolment and employment among multi-problem youths. Treated youths are guided by personal coaches and receive a comprehensive treatment of educational, work, and health services. We investigate the impact of the...

This research investigates to what extent subjective teacher assessment of children’s ability adds to the use of test scores in the explanation of children’s outcomes in the transition from elementary to secondary school. This in terms of initial track allocation, track switching...