There is now a burgeoning literature on the topic of 'overeducation' (and the complementary concept of 'undereducation'), and a growing quantity of UK empirical evidence on this issue. However, as Joop Hartog indicated in his keynote address to the Applied Econometrics Association, 'a solid...

We use establishment-level data from the 1991 Employers Manpower and Skills Practices Survey (EMSPS) and individual-level data from the Autumn 1993 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) to investigate the links between training provision and workplace unionization. We focus on two training...

We investigate the impact of computer usage at work and other job features on the changing skills required of workers. We compare skills utilisation in Britain at three data points: 1986, 1992 and 1997, using responses to identical questions on comparable surveys. We question the validity of...

This brief essay provides a selective discussion of how in recent years economists in the neoclassical tradition have addressed the questions whether and how immigration affects native workers' labour market outcomes. In particular, it discusses: the distinction between the displacement,...

We propose a model in which parents have a subjective belief about the impact of their investment on the early skill formation of their children. This subjective belief is determined in part by locus of control (LOC), i.e., the extent to which individuals believe that their actions can influence...

Wind farms reduce house prices in postcodes where the turbines are visible, according to research by Steve Gibbons. Households are willing to pay £1,000 a year to avoid a large wind farm visible within 2km. His study notes that wind turbines are generally popular as a source of green energy but...

Simple reforms to the 'investor route' system whereby wealthy foreigners can get permanent residence in the UK would benefit current residents and signal that the country is open. That's the view of Sir David Metcalf, chair of the government's Migration Advisory Committee and an active CEP...

The rapid influx of international students into UK universities over the past two decades has expanded the number of places available for domestic postgraduates, according to research by Stephen Machin and Richard Murphy. Universities seem to use the extra fees from overseas students to...

For the past few years, CEP research associate Peter Boone and his colleagues at Effective Intervention have been running primary school education projects in the rural villages of Andhra Pradesh and Guinea-Bissau. Their initial survey of literacy and numeracy in Guinea-Bissau showed that very...