Trends in Educational and Skill Mismatch in the United States

We examined trends in the incidence and correlates of educational and skill mismatch in the United States. We focused on trends over time in the associations between various types of mismatch and a range of factors including contextual conditions. We explored whether contextual conditions at the transitional period from school to jobs increase or decrease the probability of mismatch and whether such relationships persist throughout the working career. Our central questions were how the incidence of and relationship between educational and skill mismatch in the U.S. changed between 1994, 2003, and 2012 and how this differed by age, gender, immigration status, educational attainment, and occupation. We used three cross-sectional surveys that had not previously been implemented for such an effort. These were the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in 1994, the Adult Literacy and Life-skills (ALL) survey in 2003, and the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2012. Repeated cross-sectional data provided us with substantial analytic leverage. Our findings point toward the key role of occupational or positional factors rather than individual worker characteristics as being most implicated in trends in mismatch. We describe the importance of our results for labor market theories.

Skill Dispersion and Trade Flows

Is skill dispersion a source of comparative advantage? In this paper we use microdata from the International Adult Literacy Survey to show that the effect of skill dispersion on trade flows is quantitatively similar to that of the aggregate endowment of human capital. In particular we investigate, and find support for, the hypothesis that countries with a more dispersed skill distribution specialize in industries characterized by lower complementarity of workers' skills. The result is robust to the introduction of controls for alternative sources of comparative advantage, as well as to alternative measures of industry-level skill complementarity. (JEL F14, F16, J24, J31)

Researching Literacy and Numeracy Costs and Benefits: What is possible

Assessing the social and economic benefits of investing in adult literacy and numeracy and the costs of poor adult literacy and numeracy, is largely uncharted territory in Australia. Some interest was evident in the late 1980s leading up to International Literacy Year, 1990 (for example, Miltenyi 1989, Singh 1989, Hartley 1989); however, there has been little work done in the area since then, with the exception of recent studies concerned with financial literacy costs and benefits (Commonwealth Bank Foundation 2005). Assessing the benefits (returns) of workplace training in general has received some attention (for example Moy and McDonald 2000), although the role of literacy and numeracy is often implied rather than explored in any detail. In contrast, there is a considerable body of relevant research emanating from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and some European countries. The release of data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in the 1990s contributed to some of this research, as did policy developments for example, in the United Kingdom. The much greater use of IALS data in some other countries compared with Australia, seems to be related to a combination of factors in the overall policy and research environment for adult literacy and numeracy in each country.

Functional Literacy in People's Lives

Functional Literacy in People's Lives The paper presents the results of a qualitative study into the lives of people with inadequate functional literacy skills. The data were collected through a biographical interview with a respondent whose characteristics correspond to those of a hypothetical person likely to exhibit signs of low functional literacy. The characteristics, such as gender, age, parental education achievements and job history, of this hypothetical person have been derived from the results of research into adult functional literacy undertaken in the Czech Republic in 1998-International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The analysis of the qualitative data focuses on three domains of the respondent's life, namely her family life, her school years, and her life style. The paper identifies the coping strategies used by the respondent in her everyday life.

Produtividade, desenvolvimento econômico e alfabetização funcional: alguns resultados

Este trabalho apresenta algumas implicações das deficiências de habilidades de alfabetização funcional para a produtividade de um país e, conseqüentemente, para seu desenvolvimento econômico e social. Destaca, em primeiro lugar, o conceito de alfabetização funcional, discorrendo sobre os principais levantamentos no exterior, nomeadamente o Young Adult Literacy Survey (Yals) e o National Adult Literacy Survey (Nals), ambos dos Estados Unidos, e o International Adult Literacy Survey (Ials), envolvendo 20 países. Discorre sobre as principais informações existentes no Brasil e aponta, em seguida, a importância destacada da alfabetização funcional, de forma independente da educação formal. Finalmente, com o auxílio de dados internacionais, mostra a influência da alfabetização funcional nos salários, na situação de emprego, na taxa de desemprego e nas oportunidades de treinamento contínuo. Nas conclusões, são sugeridas, brevemente, algumas estratégias e políticas para combater o problema tanto em nível público quanto privado.

Kaj za posameznika pomeni pismenost?

Pismenost je v zadnjem času pogosto obravnavana tema. O Mednarodni raziskavi pismenosti odraslih (International Adult Literacy Survey – IALS, 2000) so različni strokovnjaki že večkrat pisali, zato se tokrat izsledkov raziskave le dotikamo. Razumevanju pismenosti, vplivom, ki jih ima pomanjkljiva pismenost na vsakdanje življenje, položaju manj pismenega posameznika in načrtom za spremembe je potrebno nameniti več pozornosti. V članku želimo poudariti, da do izboljševanja ravni pismenosti Slovencev ne bomo prišli preko iskanja krivde ter označevanja in izpostavljanja manj pismenih posameznikov. Pristope k iskanju možnosti za izboljšanje situacije moramo iskati v medresorskem sodelovanju, razvoju novih oblik za zviševanje ravni pismenosti, usposabljanju in izmenjavi izkušenj strokovnih delavcev, ki se pri svojem delu srečujejo z manj pismenimi odraslimi itn. Hkrati mora vzpostavljanje sistema, ki bi zagotavljal boljšo pismenost prebivalcev Slovenije, temeljiti na ustvarjanju enakih možnosti, spoštovanju raznolikosti, načelu vzajemnega učenja in priznavanju znanja, ki ga nedvomno vsak posameznik ima.

Literacy Skills and Schooling from the International Adult Literacy Survey

In the information age, literacy skills are becoming increasingly important in the knowledge economy. The use of new technologies in everyday life, changing demands in the labor market, and participation in the globalization process all require higher literacy skills. Although literacy skills are related factors such as demographic characteristics, ethnicity, and language background, schooling has been perceived as a key determinant of literacy skills. This paper reviews important texts in the area of literacy skills and schooling. In addition, relying on the IALS data, this paper identifies relationships between schooling and literacy skills in 20 countries. The article concludes with a discussion of policy implications for improving literacy skills and future research for nonlinear relationships between schooling and literacy skills and endogenous effects of schooling on literacy skills.