Skills for the 21st Century in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean

Aedo, Cristian ; Walker, Ian

World Bank

关键词: ABLE STUDENTS;    ACQUISITION OF SKILLS;    ADULT POPULATIONS;    BASIC SKILLS;    CALL;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-8971-3
RP-ID  :  66519

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

There is growing interest, worldwide, inthe link between education systems and the production ofskills that are valued in the labor market. With growthstagnating and unemployment soaring in much of the world,educators are being asked to focus more on producing skillsthat feed into labor productivity and support thesustainable growth of employment and incomes. This timelyvolume contributes important new findings on the dynamics ofeducation systems and labor market outcomes in Latin Americaand the Caribbean (LAC). It analyzes an important recentshift in labor market trends in LAC: the first decade of the21st century has witnessed a marked decline in the earningspremia for university and secondary education. This, inturn, is contributing to reduced income inequality acrossthe region. The recent trend contrasts with the sharp risein tertiary earnings premia that was observed in the 1990sand that helped to reinforce high levels of incomeinequality in the region at that time. The authors recommendthat, having achieved very large increases in secondary andtertiary enrollment, the region should now focus onimproving the quality of its education systems and thepertinence of education curricula for the needs of the labormarket. At age 15, the learning achievement of the averageLatin American student still lags two years behind his orher Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) contemporary. The study opens up an important agendafor future research. While the evidence presented on thetrends in education earnings premia is clear, theconclusions about the causes and significance of thosetrends are largely based on suggestive evidence for alimited number of countries, and are not definitive becauseof data limitations. The findings call for further in-depthanalysis of the nature of skill mismatches, to informpolicies that can strengthen the region's futureeconomic growth by enhancing the productivity and earningspotential of the workforce.