People all across the U.S. claim that they are “not math people.” They even readily admit to their hatred for some math fundamentals, such as fractions. For instance, a participant in one of our research studies on how well adults understand fractions proclaimed: “Fractions are my worst nightmare!” Could people’s fear and avoidance of math, … Continue reading
In the public psyche and in academic discourse, it is widely believed that a college degree is the great equalizer. In other words, social origins may determine educational attainment, but educational attainment (especially a college degree) determines labor market outcomes and membership to the American middle class. This notion is supported by the empirical work … Continue reading
Numeracy and literacy skills have become increasingly important in modern labour markets. The large gender differences that several studies have identified have therefore sparked considerable attention among researchers and policy makers. Little is known about the moment in which such gaps emerge, how they evolve and if their evolution differs across countries. We use data … Continue reading
Six months after Alpha Go’s stunning victory, I went to Shanghai to see firsthand how China’s schools can give them the edge. In 2013 the city’s teenagers gained global renown when they topped the charts in the PISA tests administered every three years by the OECD to see which country’s kids are the smartest in … Continue reading
The results of the Survey of Adult Skills confirm that there is a strong link between the level of numeracy performance and the use of these skills in practice. In view of these findings, countries could further encourage the teaching of numeracy-related disciplines in a wider variety of higher education pathways. Such a measure is … Continue reading
Teachers are essential for the development of human capital in society. Their skills are formed in teacher training programs, but are also highly influenced by the type and overall quality of the students who enter these programs and become teachers. Understanding which segment of the population is part of the teacher corps is important in … Continue reading
Based on a self-reported measure of overqualification, this article examines the association between overqualification and skills among workers aged 25 to 64 with a university degree, using data from the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). This article also examines the extent to which overqualified workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. … Continue reading
The greying of the population is already creating challenges for governments in the long-term financing of healthcare, ageing care and pension systems, and because of the potentially negative effects on economic growth. Governments have to nd ways to keep older adults in the labour market and encourage investment in the development of the skills of older workers. … Continue reading
Even in OECD countries, where an increasing proportion of the workforce has a university degree, the value of basic skills in literacy and numeracy remains high. Indeed, in some countries the return for such skills, in the form of higher wages, is sufficiently large to suggest that they are in high demand and that there … Continue reading
This paper examines which incremental increases in numeracy skills, literacy skills and skills and readiness in using ICT for problem solving have the biggest impact on employment participation and related labour market outcomes, and how these compare to incremental increases in educational attainment. Using the 2012 PIAAC data, our analysis confirms that there are significantly … Continue reading
Each year more than 300,000 people leave the UK to begin a new life overseas. In their place around 450,000 immigrants travel across our borders to seek new opportunities. But do immigrants adequately fill the jobs, and skills gaps, left behind by those who leave the UK? And do emigrants from this country enjoy a … Continue reading
In 2012, more than a quarter of university graduates in Canada aged 25 to 65 had a literacy score at the second level or below (out of five levels) in a survey on adult competencies led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The survey, which was part of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult … Continue reading
How literacy skills are distributed across a population also has significant implications on how economic and social outcomes are distributed within the society. The Survey of Adult Skills shows that higher levels of inequality in literacy and numeracy skills are associated with greater inequality in the distribution of income, whatever the causal nature of this … Continue reading
While the majority of employers are satisfied with their young recruits, a not insignificant minority are not. The next chart shows what proportion of employers (who have recruited a young person) have found their young recruits to be poorly prepared for a variety of reasons. The overwhelming factors are experience and attitude or motivation. Of … Continue reading