Replacement demand in a global economy / Richard B. Freeman -- An overview of U.S. workforce development policy / Burt S. Barnow and Demetra S. Nightingale -- Career-focused education and training for youth / Robert I. Lerman -- Higher education : policies generating the 21st century workforce /...

In this paper I note the basic paradox of workforce development policy: that, in an era in which skills are more important than ever as determinants of labor market earnings, we spend fewer and fewer public (federal) dollars on workforce development over time. I present trends in funding and how...

Stagnant earnings and growing inequality in the US labor market reflect both a slowdown in the growth of worker skills and the growing matching of good-paying jobs to skilled workers. Improving the ties between colleges, workforce institutions, and employers would help more workers gain the...