Book Chapter

The chapter provides an overview of the labour market challenges posed by a fast ageing global population. It shows that, while the ratio of potential retirees per person participating in the labour market is expected to increase markedly by 2030, the average age of those in the labour force is also set to gradually increase over the same period. These dynamics pose the dual challenge of keeping retirees out of poverty while promoting decent work outcomes for the growing share of older workers in the labour force. The chapter concludes by highlighting a number of policy options to tackle these challenges.

Knowledge, which is based on information, and coupled with cultural and spiritual values, has become a force in itself and a key driver of social, economic, technological and cultural change. Experience in fast-growing economies highlights education as one of the key factors in adopting and successful exploitation of knowledge-based economy. The growth of intellectual capital will create a competitive environment of the new economy in which knowledge is the main product. The importance of knowledge is recognized in business management, thus it is possible to speak of knowledge management as a significant business function. Investing in knowledge, its accessibility, dissemination and use have become a key factor in promoting economic growth, job creation, competitiveness and social dimension of society. In today's globalized economy, dominated by information and communication technologies (ICT), society as a whole has no chance of becoming successful and competitive unless it adopts and implements all the principles of knowledge-based economy. Economic activities related to production and the use of ICT and knowledge have become main drivers of economic growth in developed market economies. Systematic gathering and use of knowledge aimed at generating new ideas can be achieved by setting up an adequate environment in which the latest ICT facilitate such tasks. Employee knowledge, their work experience, ideas, innovations, motivation, and team spirit enrich organisational culture and enhance the processes within the organisation. Contemporary business operations are so dynamic that some managers remain mere bystanders, as they cannot keep up with the latest trends. The principles of new economy are based on knowledge acquisition and on learning how to exploit and manage knowledge. The present research aims to establish student perceptions on the Croatian higher education system, how they assess knowledge and competencies gained during their studies at polytechnics, and the level of ICT application. The results will point to the advantages and disadvantages of knowledge and skills acquired at polytechnics, thus helping to shape future strategies for the development of a competitive economy.

Globalization and technological innovation have intensified the demand for college- educated workers. In 2017, college graduates earned 65% more than non-college-educated workers and were twice as likely to be employed. This proposal recognizes the simultaneous need for more college educated workers and also for a higher level of labor market skill among non-college educated individuals. We propose to invest in the upskilling of the American workplace by better leveraging the potential of the community college sector. Community colleges offer widely accessible and flexible postsecondary education and midcareer training opportunities. They are also a gateway to four-year colleges for millions of students. Yet, despite their promise and potential, community colleges are under intense resource pressures that constrain the educational and labor market outcomes of their students. We call for a new federal grant program to provide funding to community colleges, contingent on institutional outcomes. Our cost estimates suggest new funding on the order of $22 billion per year. This new public investment in community colleges would promote the policy goals of: (1) increasing the supply of college-educated workers; (2) expanding opportunities for midcareer skill development and training; and (3) providing better pathways into the workforce for non-college-educated workers. We additionally support a set of six complementary proposals to further advance these stated goals.

Labor force participation among prime-age workers has been declining for many decades. This memo aims to provide policy makers with a useful framework for thinking about the question: “Why are so many people deciding that seeking work isn’t worth it?” After reviewing relevant facts and trends about labor force participation in the United States, we consider plausible explanations for the causes of decline. We identify 20 potential explanations for low and declining labor force participation and ultimately conclude that there is still too much uncertainty about the causes of the decline, and thus it is difficult to quantify the expected benefits of any particular policy change. We conclude with five policy approaches to increase prime-age labor force participation.

This paper considers the role of policy in an AI-intensive economy (interpreting AI broadly). It emphasizes the speed of adoption of the technology for the impact on the job market and the implications for inequality across people and across places. It also discusses the challenges of enacting a Universal Basic Income as a response to widespread AI adoption, discuss pricing, privacy and competition policy the question of whether AI could improve policy making itself.

Economic and technological change has made lifelong learning more important than ever and partly explains the rise of online education, the flexibility of which appeals to mid-career Americans. Most existing online education appears to result, however, in poor learning and labor market outcomes. Promising models of low cost, high-quality online education are only now beginning to arise. This brief lays out some of the central questions policymakers should ask when considering plans to leverage online education for economically vulnerable mid-career Americans, as well as the state of the evidence surrounding those questions. In short, existing research provides little clear evidence of successful models of online education for academically weaker students, suggesting that policymakers should proceed with caution. Any such efforts should be accompanied by rigorous, data-driven assessment and accountability systems, both to encourage pedagogical innovation and to ensure students benefit from such degrees.

We propose two alternative policy options for promoting increased earnings and employment of low-income households: expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) among childless workers, and implementing a wage subsidy for low-income workers that would be administered through employers. The EITC is based on household income and administered as a tax credit, while the subsidy based on hourly wages would require no filing or administrative effort by workers. We compare and contrast the costs and benefits of these two approaches to raising wages. Our two policy options are meant as part of a response to the sluggish income growth at the bottom of the distribution over the past several decades. Over the long term, a broad set of policies is needed to boost productivity and ensure that the resulting incomes gains are widely shared—and we discuss the elements of such an agenda that should receive bipartisan support. Over the near-term, however, the policies we propose are well-targeted to improving the incomes and participation rate of workers at the bottom who have been left behind by the rising prosperity of the U.S. economy.

This chapter identifies and discusses opportunities and challenges for labour markets and provides examples of policies and practices that can help achieve an inclusive and employment-intensive green transition. Section 2 provides a systematic overview of how green transformations may affect the quantity and quality of employment. In section 3 we undertake an attempt to define green jobs. Section 4 presents empirical evidence on employment trends in those labour market segments that can be attributed relatively well to green sectors. Section 5 introduces an overview of labour market and social policies that can facilitate a green transition from a social point of view. The conclusion summarizes the key findings of this chapter.

Discourse is an important part of the institutional environment of organizations, but the potential influence of societal discourse on learning technology decision making has not been examined. This paper explores societal discourse on technology in education, with a particular emphasis on costs and benefits, and the significance of this discourse to management practice and policy making. It uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques in an effort to assess communications distortions, guided by Habermas ’ standards of validity claims for communications: truth, clarity, sincerity, and legitimacy. While the findings are preliminary, it suggests that there are significant distortions in the societal discourse. A potential consequence of these distortions is impaired decision making at the organizational and political levels.