This paper presents an evaluation of the voucher scheme for 4-year-olds introduced during 1996-1997 in England and Wales. The scheme is evaluated in terms of its stated objectives of promoting parental choice, a diversity of providers and high standards of education. The overall findings suggest...

A review of research evidence suggests that low levels of educational attainment are crucial in generating and sustaining social exclusion. Test scores at school are the most effective predictor of many adult outcomes. School attendance and soft skills are also important. Reviewing the factors...

A review of research evidence suggests that low levels of educational attainment are crucial in generating and sustaining social exclusion. Test scores at school are the most effective predictor of many adult outcomes. School attendance and soft skills are also important. Reviewing the factors...

A review of the United Nations Human Rights Council is currently under way in Geneva and New York and is set to be finished by July 2011. This study analyses the role of the European Union in the Human Rights Council since the inception of the Council in 2006, and then considers its role in the...

The European Online Games, Social Media and Mobile Application sector has grown substantially in recent years and children are exposed to increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques online which are often outside the purview of existing regulatory frameworks. This study aims to provide a...

The Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) aims to increasecompetition and to foster client protection in the European financialmarket. Among other provisions, it abolishes the concentration rule andchallenges the market ower of existing trading venues. The directiveintroduces venue...

This paper tests whether the so-called ‘reach of the market’ helps to explain ‘why Europe’ and ‘why north-western Europe’. By looking at grain markets from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century, this study concludes that the process of commodity market integration...

The paper explores the link between international economic integration and technological capability in colonial India. The example of iron industry shows that many new ideas and skills flowed into India from Europe, but not all met with commercial success. The essay suggests that in those fields...