Optimizing the “demographic dividend” in young developing countries: The role of contractual savings and insurance for financing education

Many developing regions are facing a youth bulge, meaning that young people comprise the highest proportion of the population. These regions are at risk of losing what could be a tremendous opportunity for economic growth and development if they do not capitalize on this young and economically productive population, also referred to as the “demographic dividend,” defined as the increase in economic growth that tends to follow increases in the ratio of the working‐age population – essentially the labor force – to dependents. Nations undergoing this population transition have the opportunity to capitalize on the demographic dividend if the right social, economic, and human capital policies are in place. In particular, Sub‐Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa are at risk of losing the demographic dividend. These regions face high youth unemployment, low primary school completion, and low secondary school enrollment. This results in an undereducated and unskilled segment of the population. The prohibitive costs of education prevent young people from finishing school, thereby entering the labor market unprepared. This article presents a case for youth‐focused financial inclusion programs as one of the antidotes to the masses of poor, undereducated, and low‐skilled young people swelling the labor markets of poor developing countries.     

Job Mobility and Early Career Wage Growth of White,African‐American,and Hispanic Women*

Objective. This article examines whether and how young women's job mobility influences racial and ethnic wage‐growth differentials during the first eight years after leaving school. Methods. We use the NLSY‐79 Work History File to simulate the influence of job mobility on the wages of skilled and unskilled workers. Results. African‐American and Hispanic women average less job mobility than white women, especially if they did not attend college. Unskilled women who experience frequent job changes during the first four postschool years reap positive wage returns, but turnover beyond the shopping period incurs wage penalties. Job mobility does not appear to boost wage growth for college‐educated women. Conclusions. Among unskilled women, race and ethnic wage disparities partly derive from group differences in the frequency of job changes, but unequal returns to job mobility drive the wage gaps for skilled women. We discuss several explanations for these disparities.     

The Impact of Immigration on Skills,Innovation and Wages: Education Matters more than where People Come from

With the ensuing immigration reform in the US, the paper shows that targeted skilled immigration into the R&D sector that helps low-skilled labor is conducive for controlling inequality and raising wage. Skilled talent-led innovation could have spillover benefits for the unskilled sector while immigration into the production sector will always reduce wage, aggravating wage inequality. In essence, we infer: (i) if R&D inputs contributes only to skilled sector, wage inequality increases in general; (ii) for wage gap to decrease, R&D sector must produce inputs that goes into unskilled manufacturing sector; (iii) even with two types of specific R&D inputs entering into the skilled and unskilled sectors separately, unskilled labor is not always benefited by high skilled migrants into R&D-sector. Rather, it depends on the importance of migrants’ skill in R&D activities and intensity of inputs. Empirical verification using a VAR model in the context of the USA confirms the conjectures, and the empirical results substantiate our policy-guided hypothesis that skilled immigration facilitates innovation with favorable impact on reducing wage-gap. Inclusive immigration policy requires inter-sectoral diffusion of ideas embedded in talented immigrants targeted for innovation.     

Contextualising the ‘Crisis in Aged Care’ in Australia : A Demographic Perspective

Australia's ‘old‐old’ population is growing even faster than the total aged population and despite improved incomes, living conditions, health risk behaviours and health care this will result in a concomitant increase in the numbers of older people with disabilities. This paper examines ABS 2003 survey data on the incidence of disability among older Australians and their need for, and utilisation of, formal and informal care. It uses this as a basis for projecting the incidence of disability among older Australians and the need for informal and formal care up to 2031. These indicate there is a major challenge since the aged care workforce has grown only slowly in Australia and is concentrated in the older working ages presaging a loss of workers through retirement. There needs to be a significant effort put into attracting workers to both the skilled and unskilled parts of the aged care industry.     

School Engagement Trajectories and Their Differential Predictive Relations to Dropout

Although most theories draw upon the construct of school engagement in their conceptualization of the dropout process, research addressing its hypothesized prospective relation with dropout remains scarce and does not account for the academic and social heterogeneity of students who leave school prematurely. This study explores the reality of different life-course pathways of school engagement and their predictive relations to dropout. Using an accelerated longitudinal design, we used growth mixture modeling to generate seven distinct trajectories of school engagement with 12- to 16-year-old students (N = 13,300). A vast majority of students were classified into three stable trajectories, distinguishing themselves at moderate to very high levels of school engagement. We refer to these as developmentally normative pathways in light of their frequent occurrence and stability. Although regrouping only one-tenth of participants, four other nonnormative (or unexpected pathways) accounted for the vast majority of dropouts. Dropout risk was closely linked with unstable pathways of school engagement. We conclude by debating the delicate investment balance between universal strategies and more selective and differentiated strategies to prevent dropout. We also discuss the need to better understand why, within normative trajectories, some students with high levels of school engagement drop out of school .     

How Studies of the Educational Progression of Minority Children Are Affecting Education Policy in Denmark

Over the past decade, the number of ethnic minorities in Denmark has increased rapidly, now accounting for over 8 per cent of the total population. This paper presents results from a number of recent studies regarding the educational choices of minority children from less developed countries. An important social concern is that the educational attainment of these children is much lower than among native Danes. The studies show that that a main reason for the education gap is very high dropout rates from vocational schools among minority children and that inadequate Danish language proficiency of immigrants, parents and their children, is an important reason for the high dropout rates, as are inadequate educational preparedness from grade school and insufficient apprenticeship positions available for minority youth. Socio‐economic background, however, has relatively little effect. Recent policy changes to reduce dropout rates from vocational schools are reviewed and additional policy interventions are proposed.     

Female High School Dropouts A Relational View

This study investigates risk and protective factors of Taiwanese female students who dropped out of high school. Twenty female youth who had dropped out of high school and who grew up and resided in Taiwan voluntarily participated in this study. Findings revealed particular relational conflicts and coping strategies employed by the girls that contributed to significant vulnerability, conflict at school and school dropout. Implications for social work practice are addressed.     

The Revolution in Science and Technology and the Problem of Training Skilled Workers in the USSR

The Twenty-Fourth Congress of the CPSU outlined a broad program aimed at substantially raising the material and cultural living standard of the people through high production growth rates, increased production effectiveness, progress in science and technology, and the accelerated growth of labor productivity. The Congress emphasized that the leading role of the working class as the builder of communism is strengthened in proportion to the growth in its overall cultural level, level of education, and level of political activity. The Congress's Directives on the Five-Year Plan for the Development of the National Economy call for: an expansion in the training of skilled workers at vocational and technical schools, especially in rural areas, so that young people in general will have a specialty before they start work; training at least 9 million skilled workers for all branches of the national economy in vocational-technical schools during the five-year period; raising admissions to vocational and technical schools training skilled workers in the most complex occupations; and simultaneously, offering secondary education to 300,000-400,000 persons by 1975. The Party Congress raised the system of vocational and technical training to a new, higher level.     

Resilience for dropout students with depression in secondary schools in Hong Kong: parental attachment,hope and community integration

ABSTRACT

The objective of this qualitative research is to better understand school dropout students with depression in Hong Kong and how they overcome their adversities. Three girls and five boys participated in the study. The results showed that the Hong Kong cultural context was affected by school competition and the effect of mental health labelling. Jaspers’ phenomenology was utilised to understand the phenomenon of school dropout and depression. The findings illustrated the importance of secure parental attachment, substitute secure attachment, hope, supportive environment and community integration in helping dropout students with depression to overcome adversities. A resilience model for school dropouts with depression is proposed for improving professional practice in Hong Kong.     

Nigeria's population growth and the Third National Development Plan, 1975-1980

This article counters the Nigerian Federal Government's position that a policy to curb population growth in unnecessary because economic progress is not seriously impeded by demographic factors and unfeasible because adequate statistical information is unavailable. Existing literature on the relationship between economic growth and rapid population growth and on Nigeria's population growth is examined, and the implications of rapid population growth on development planning objectives concerning education, health, housing, and employment are assessed. Since 1963, estimates of Nigeria's population growth rate have ranged between 2.8 and 3%. If the crude birth rate is 50 to 55 and the crude death rate is 20 to 25, the population is probably growing at about 3% per year. The goal of doubling per capita income in less than 12 years can only be realized if the GNP grows by 10% per year or if a slower rate of population growth is attained. Achievement of a 100% enrollment in primary school and 70% in secondary school, amelioration of the unemployment and underemployment problems, and provision of basic health care and housing for the population would also be facilitated by a reduction in the rate of population growth. The argument that land and natural resources in Nigeria are abundant enough to support a large population ignores the fact that resources are exhaustible and that farmers desire to improve their living standards. The increased parental attention to each child that would be possible if couples had fewer children would result in an improvement in the quality of the population. The failure of Nigerian planners to consider realistically the problems of rapid population growth appears to be characteristic of African development planners.     

Legal or illegal? Preferences on immigration

The political debate about regularisation programmes for undocumented migrants is a very controversial issue. The main goal of this article is to explain why governments decide to grant amnesties to illegal immigrants as a part of their immigration policy. We propose a simple political competition model in which we first derive the voters' preferences over a menu of regularisation programmes. Labour market conditions make skilled workers more pro-regularisation than unskilled workers. We find that, in general, the policy implemented at the political equilibrium is a partial amnesty programme, which is what happens in the majority of the countries in this study.     

Immigration and wage inequality in the 1990s: Panel evidence from the current population survey

In spite of record economic growth in the 1990s, income inequality continued to escalate in the United States. One popular explanation is that the proportion of unskilled immigrant inflows has increased due to policy reforms over the last four decades. This study evaluates the impact of immigrant skills on inequality using a panel data set of states derived from the March Current Population Survey (CPS). The data set provides unique insights into local impacts of immigration due to its ability to discern shorter-term annual adjustments versus the traditional longer-term focus of the Decennial Census. Using a basic theoretical model to develop testable hypotheses, the dynamic analyses reveal that increased relative inflows of unskilled immigrants indeed increase wage inequality. The impact on native wage inequality is especially pronounced, with an effect nearly twice as large as that on overall wage inequality.     

Legal or illegal? Preferences on immigration

The political debate about regularisation programmes for undocumented migrants is a very controversial issue. The main goal of this article is to explain why governments decide to grant amnesties to illegal immigrants as a part of their immigration policy. We propose a simple political competition model in which we first derive the voters' preferences over a menu of regularisation programmes. Labour market conditions make skilled workers more pro-regularisation than unskilled workers. We find that, in general, the policy implemented at the political equilibrium is a partial amnesty programme, which is what happens in the majority of the countries in this study.     

印度制造业发展缓慢的制度原因剖析

与以制造业作为经济增长引擎的中国不同,印度制造业的发展始终保持缓慢低下的增长速度。本文从制度角度揭示了印度制造业发展缓慢的深层原因。笔者结合印度制度环境形成的历史背景与制度变迁的路径依赖,发现长期的混合经济和民主体制形成的僵化体制增加了印度制度变迁的难度。劳动力市场保护和许可证等一系列管制构成制造业把握开放机会的制度障碍,造成外资和贸易的不旺,进而无法促进制造业的发展。     

Are baby‐boomers healthy enough to keep working? Health as a mediator of extended labour force participation

One strategy to reduce the economic impact of structural ageing is to increase and/or extend the workforce participation of older workers. Currently, a large proportion of this group consists of post‐World War II baby‐boomers (1946–1965) whose characteristics, experiences and attitudes differ markedly from their predecessors. Maintaining good health underpins strategies to extend workforce participation among baby‐boomers but there is little hard evidence supporting the assumption that baby‐boomers are generally in good health compared to previous generations and will, therefore, be able to work longer. Using a dataset that includes biomedical and self‐reported health for a representative sample of South Australian baby‐boomers, we analyse the extent to which current labour force participation is mediated by health. We find that health is a significant factor in workforce exits. Respondents with fair‐to‐poor self‐rated health, or with diabetes, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cardiovascular disease, were more likely to be retired or unable to work, and around 10 per cent of older baby‐boomers (born 1946–1955) who have left the workforce rate their health as poor or fair. The data suggest that these patterns are likely to be replicated in younger baby‐boomers (born 1956–1965).     

Inclusion or Exclusion? Exploring Barriers to Employment for Low-Income Older Adults

Faced with economic uncertainty and declining retirement security, older adults have increasingly tried to remain in, or return to, the workforce in recent years. Unfortunately, a host of factors, such as ageism and changing skill requirements, present challenges for older adults seeking employment. Low-income older adults, in particular, may lack necessary education and skills and have limited access to job opportunities and training. In this review, we examine factors that inhibit and support employment for low-income older adults and explore the role of social work in facilitating their inclusion in the workforce.     

Developing social work students' communication skills with children and young people: a model for the qualifying level curriculum

Currently, there is no explicit requirement for qualifying level social workers to be skilled in communicating with children. In a recent Knowledge Review, we argued that practitioners should have a basic level of competence in such skill at the point of qualification. If that argument is accepted then how this should be acquired within the qualifying social work curriculum needs consideration. The authors present a framework for understanding those components of skilled communication with children that should be included in the qualifying curriculum. A whole programme approach to curriculum development will be outlined which, we suggest, might enable students to develop the knowledge, capabilities and values required for skilled practice in this area.     

The experience of sole mothers balancing paid work with care for a child with a disability

There are increasing numbers of families in Australia headed by sole parents, but little is known about the experiences of those who also care for a child with a disability. Additional caring responsibilities have previously been shown to impact on the work participation of parents. This study involved qualitative analyses of interview data conducted with sole mothers with school‐aged children with disability (N = 11). Thematic analysis revealed four themes that enabled and supported participation in the workforce: social support; managing appointments; characteristics of the workplace; and the role of the school. Results suggest the importance of practical help from family and friends in facilitating participation in paid employment. Additionally, the importance of flexible appointment scheduling on the part of service providers was highlighted, as well as the importance of workplace flexibility and supportive workplace cultures. Such factors were important in supporting sole mothers to balance work with care, with important implications for personal and family wellbeing.     

Blue‐collar Emigration from India and Governance

Indian expatriates numbering about 6.5 million, i.e. one‐third of the Gulf population, have been engaged in skilled, semi‐skilled and unskilled work since the time of the oil boom in the Persian Gulf regions. Putting monetary benefits to one side, emigrants' problems, such as false promises of recruiting agents, high visa charges, hurdles at workplaces and a defective system to address the grievances of Indian workers in the 18 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries, are still unaddressed. With this background, the aim of this article is to concentrate on emigration from India to the 18 ECR countries listed by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Government of India (GoI). The GoI has identified these 18 countries because they are not labour‐ (emigrant‐) friendly, and are vulnerable to exploitation with regard to their labour standards. The article begins with conceptualizing ‘emigration’ in the Indian context. By focusing only on the ECR countries, the real picture concerning the situation of Indian emigrants is unfolded. These 18 ECR countries are almost the same in their treatment of blue‐collar emigrants. So, only this category of countries is selected for this work. The following key areas are discussed in this article: the role of the MOIA and the respective state governments in supporting and protecting these emigrants and their families; shortcomings in Indian embassies' administrative structure in protecting blue‐collar Indian workers; and the existing legislative provisions and welfare schemes for Indian emigrants working in the 18 ECR countries. In addition, the existing programmes at both central and state government level for returning and deporting workers are covered in this article.     

The evolving concept of "retirement": Looking forward to the year 2050

Economic growth, more than demography, will determine the nature of future retirement. With growth has come a steady increase in retirement years. Now, however, there is increasing interest in "rolling back" these gains. Alternatively, some scholars propose a different framework for evaluating "work" late in life — one that includes altruism, citizenship, stewardship, creativity, and the search for faith. Attitudes toward retirement in the future are likely to move sharply away from the simplistic view of all work before retirement and no work after. Some of the resulting changes we can expect to see are more part-time work, expanded "citizen participation," and an older workforce with more training and retraining.