Skill Accumulation Research Articles

Skill bias in the labour market: Evidence from Iran

Purpose ― Most global economies are dealing with the issue of skill bias. In developing and underdeveloped countries, skill bias poses a problem by preventing the educated from participating in the economy's production function, especially in the long run. This paper expands on the skill-wage relationship and investigates this issue in the case of Iran from 1981 to 2021.Methods- Applying Impulse Responses from VECM and the Structural VAR model separates the relationship between skill and wage into short- and long-term effects. The structural wage model was estimated using the structural vector auto-regression model.Findings ― The results show that skill played a significant role in wage determination only for three periods in the short run, and the effect was neutral in the long run. This means that skill accumulation through advancement in graduate and postgraduate study is unlikely to increase wages in the long run.Implication ― According to the findings, skill bias implies that education attainment in the Iranian labour market can only improve wages to a minimum extent. This also proves that factors other than education determine wage growth in the economy. Originality ― The skill-wage relationship has not been a focus of studies in education outcome fields. Moreover, in the case of Iran, this investigation is novel, and there is a lack of studies on the relationship between compensation and skill.

Research on the Construction of Pathways to Enhance the Accumulation Ability of Technical Skills in Vocational Colleges

School enterprise cooperation is a basic talent cultivation model in vocational education. The quality of cooperation directly affects the quality of talent cultivation in vocational schools. To effectively solve the prominent problems in the cooperation between vocational colleges and enterprises, it is necessary to address the problem of insufficient depth of school enterprise cooperation. This article combines the construction of the current cooperative operation mechanism between schools and enterprises, explores the construction of practical training venues, practical combat platforms, and teacher technical skill accumulation platforms in vocational colleges, and proposes a performance evaluation mechanism for talent cultivation quality, for reference and reference by other vocational colleges.

The diffusion of digital skills across EU regions: structural drivers and polarisation dynamics

ABSTRACT The digital transformation is an important driver of long-run productivity growth and, as such, it has the potential to promote a more inclusive and sustainable growth. However, digital capabilities, crucial to develop and govern new digital technologies, are unevenly distributed across European regions, increasing the risk of divergence and polarisation. By taking advantage of a set of original indicators capturing the level of digital skills in the regional workforce, this work analyses the factors shaping the process of digital skill accumulation in the EU over the period 2011–2018. Relying on transition probability matrices and dynamic random effects probit models, we provide evidence of a strong and persistent regional polarisation in the adoption and deployment of digital skills. Further, we investigate whether structural factors and European funds (European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Funds and European Social Funds) are capable of shaping the digitalisation process and favouring regional convergence.

Multi-skilled workforce scheduling with training and welfare considerations

Abstract Flexibility in workforce scheduling in services is necessary to reduce the impact of demand uncertainty, absenteeism, and desertion while maintaining high service levels. This paper studies the workforce scheduling problem, including multiple skill accumulation, training, and welfare, as well as flexibility for employees and the company. All these elements are modelled and included in a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model that maximises their accumulated skill level. A real case study based on the scheduling of lab assistants to laboratory practices at a university in Colombia is used to generate numerical experiments. Different experiments were conducted, and the results show that the level of skill achieved is highly sensitive to the number of assistants and the number of allocations. The experiments also showed that, while keeping the same number of lab assistants, it is possible to include flexibility and welfare constraints. Finally, the proposed model can generate schedules that achieve high levels of skills and meet the different constraints of the model, including balance, accumulation, demand and welfare.

Emigration and Back-Door Brain Drain: Do Restrictive Immigration Policies Make UnequalsWorse Off?

In contrast to the skilled emigration and brain drain literature unskilled labour emigration and its impact on skill accumulation in the source country caught limited attention so far. While skilled emigration pushes up skilled wages and directly impacts the skilled stock of the source country, unskilled emigration pushes up the opportunity cost (unskilled wage) of skill acquisition. This further weakens the incentive to build skills. Economic agents make rational educational investment decisions based on their wealth (inheritance) and endogenous market returns (wages). The wealth distribution of an economy plays a deterministic role in the skill formation process. This is especially when the capital market is imperfect and skill acquisition is costly. Among unequal countries, the article identifies conditions and explains the possibilities of a decrease in skilled stock following emigration. This has significant policy implications. The restrictive immigration policies of the host countries specifically for unskilled immigrants make these unequal economies worse off. JEL: D31, F22, J24

The effect of the age at school entry on educational attainment and field of study: an analysis using the Spanish census

In countries with a school-entry cutoff date, individuals born right after the cutoff are almost 1 year older than individuals in the same school cohort born right before that date. Abundant research has documented that, as a result of that extra year of maturation and skill accumulation, older students in a cohort outperform their younger peers. It is also well-established that this effect peaks at the initial stages of the educational career and wanes as students grow. However, it remains unclear whether or not the age at school entry affects final educational attainment. In this work, we use Spanish census data to assess whether individuals born right after the school-entry cutoff (January 1) are more likely to complete post-compulsory education, a university degree and post-graduate education. We also assess if the age at school entry affects the probability of completing education in a STEM field of study. Our findings indicate that males born after the cutoff accumulate more years of education than males born before that date, but are less likely to complete their education in a STEM field of study. Interestingly, the effect concentrates among the youngest and oldest students in each cohort, is less intense for higher levels of education and disappears among females.

Does the early childhood education and care in India contribute to children's skill development?

AbstractEarly childhood education and care (ECEC) is a crucial intervention because of its long‐term impact on child development. However, information concerning the effectiveness of the ECEC in developing countries like India is sparsely available. This empirical study drew upon primary data collected from India's eastern state, West Bengal and investigated whether attending preschool contributed to children's cognitive and social skill development. The study found that attending preschool did not provide dividends in the form of cognitive and social skill accumulation. Furthermore, attending private preschool was associated with socioemotional development but no cognitive development. Moreover, parents' education seems to be a strong predictor for child's development. Given the findings of this paper, preschools in India, both in the public and private sectors, would need considerable quality improvement to deliver developmentally appropriate ECEC to children. It is particularly relevant in the context of the new National Education Policy in India, which emphasises the need to provide universal access to high‐quality ECCE to all young children across the country.

Exploring the economic and social relationships in a triadic model of continuous professional development

The transformation of labor markets necessitates a dynamic approach to professional development. In Kazakhstan, a country in the throes of economic diversification, the economic implications of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hold relevance. This paper introduces a triadic model that aims to explore the relationships between CPD, skill accumulation, and labor market mobility within the context of Kazakhstan’s developing economy. We examine the quantitative and qualitative economic benefits and drawbacks associated with CPD initiatives at both the individual and organizational levels. By employing multi-method analysis, which includes statistical modelling, survey data, and case studies, the study presents an intricate understanding of how CPD investments propagate through the labor market, affecting individual career trajectories, organizational competitiveness, and overall economic productivity. The triadic model consists of three interconnected components: Individual Skill Accumulation (ISA), Organizational Skill Utilization (OSU), and Labor Market Mobility (LMM). The ISA component analyses how CPD activities contribute to an individual’s skillset, both hard and soft skills. OSU focuses on how organizations harness these accumulated skills for operational efficiency and market competitiveness. Finally, LMM investigates how CPD-influenced skills affect labor market transitions, including lateral movements, promotions, and even inter-industry mobility. The empirical results indicate a strong positive correlation between CPD investment and skill accumulation, which subsequently influences labor market mobility in both intra- and inter-industry contexts. Organizations participating in CPD initiatives were found to have a competitive edge, particularly in technology adoption and human capital retention. However, the benefits are not unequivocally distributed, with the upper echelons of organizational hierarchies reaping disproportionate advantages. Moreover, a lack of standardization in CPD programs may contribute to a skills mismatch, thus countering some economic benefits. This paper contributes to the extant literature by providing a nuanced view of CPD’s role in a developing economic context. Policymakers and organizational leaders can leverage these insights to formulate more effective CPD strategies that align with broader economic goals and societal needs.

The effectiveness of clinical guideline implementation strategies in oncology—a systematic review

ImportanceGuideline recommendations do not necessarily translate into changes in clinical practice behaviour or better patient outcomes.ObjectiveThis systematic review aims to identify recent clinical guideline implementation strategies in oncology and to determine their effect primarily on patient-relevant outcomes and secondarily on healthcare professionals' adherence.MethodsA systematic search of five electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, GIN, CENTRAL, CINAHL) was conducted on 16 december 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) assessing the effectiveness of guideline implementation strategies on patient-relevant outcomes (overall survival, quality of life, adverse events) and healthcare professionals' adherence outcomes (screening, referral, prescribing, attitudes, knowledge) in the oncological setting were targeted. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and the ROBINS-I tool were used for assessing the risk of bias. Certainty in the evidence was evaluated according to GRADE recommendations. This review was prospectively registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with the identification number CRD42021268593.FindingsOf 1326 records identified, nine studies, five cluster RCTs and four controlled before-and after studies, were included in the narrative synthesis. All nine studies assess the effect of multi-component interventions in 3577 cancer patients and more than 450 oncologists, nurses and medical staff.Patient-levelEducational meetings combined with materials, opinion leaders, audit and feedback, a tailored intervention or academic detailing may have little to no effect on overall survival, quality of life and adverse events of cancer patients compared to no intervention, however, the evidence is either uncertain or very uncertain.Provider-levelMulti-component interventions may increase or slightly increase guideline adherence regarding screening, referral and prescribing behaviour of healthcare professionals according to guidelines, but the certainty in evidence is low. The interventions may have little to no effect on attitudes and knowledge of healthcare professionals, still, the evidence is very uncertain.Conclusions and relevanceKnowledge and skill accumulation through team-oriented or online educational training and dissemination of materials embedded in multi-component interventions seem to be the most frequently researched guideline implementation strategies in oncology recently. This systematic review provides an overview of recent guideline implementation strategies in oncology, encourages future implementation research in this area and informs policymakers and professional organisations on the development and adoption of implementation strategies.

Childcare Subsidies and Child Skill Accumulation in One- and Two-Parent Families

I examine the role of family structure and childcare subsidies in child skill accumulation. I establish empirically that skill accumulation is more responsive to childcare price for one-parent families than for two-parent families. I analyze the effects of childcare subsidies in a model featuring endogenous family formation, parental altruism, and a baseline subsidy resembling that of the United States. I find that eliminating this subsidy generates welfare losses of 1.63 percent of lifetime consumption, that equilibrium adjustments act to mitigate these losses, and that increasing uptake among one-parent families yields the highest welfare gains per additional recipient. (JEL I21, I26, J12, J13, J24)

Family Policies and Child Skill Accumulation

Family Policies and Child Skill Accumulation

A study of simulation training in laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis on a 3D-printed dry lab model.

There are few studies on simulation training in laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis. There is also a lack of mature and reliable training models for bilioenteric anastomosis. In this study, we aimed to assess a feasible training model for bilioenteric anastomosis. Surgeons can improve their surgical ability by performing laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis on this model through repeated training. The original articles related to simulation training in surgical anastomosis were identified from January 2000 to November 2021 in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection database. We conducted a bibliometric analysis based on the country of these publications and the type of anastomosis. A 3D-printed bilioenteric anastomosis model was applied in this study. Baseline data of 15 surgeons (5 surgeons of Attendings, 5 surgeons of Fellows, and 5 surgeons of Residents) were collected. The bilioenteric anastomosis data, including the operation time and operation score, were recorded and analyzed. A study of the learning curve was also performed for further assessment. Surgeons at different levels of experience exhibited different levels of performance in conducting laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis on this model. Experienced surgeons completed their first training session in a shorter time and obtained a higher surgical score. In turn, repeated training significantly shortened the time of laparoscopic bilioenteric anastomosis for each trainer and improved the surgical score. Surgeons with different levels of experience needed different numbers of cases to reach the stable period of the learning curve. Experienced surgeons were able to reach a proficient level through fewer training cases. A suitable biliary-enteric anastomosis model can help surgeons conduct simulation training and provide experience and skill accumulation for future real operations. Our training model performed well in this study and can effectively accomplish this goal.

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recession on Career Preparation during High School

ABSTRACT School closings in response to COVID-19 reduced the opportunity for students to engage in all learning including career and technical education (CTE). As a result of the COVID-19 disruption student opportunities for work-based learning and completion of hours required for professional certification was severely reduced. The absence of these experiences had the potential to create disruptions in the skill and experience accumulation for youth and their transition to the labor market. Prior research demonstrated that CTE training and certifications in high school improve earnings and employment outcomes for students, particularly those from marginalized communities. This paper uses administrative data from Massachusetts to investigate whether COVID-19 disruptions differentially influenced outcomes for CTE students relative to non-CTE students. We find graduation rates fell for all students, but students in specialized CTE high schools experienced smaller declines. These smaller differences were apparent for CTE students from lower-income families and those with disabilities. In contrast, students in large cities where the influence of COVID-19 was elevated fared less well, even among CTE participants. In contrast to educational attainment, graduating seniors continued earning industry credentials comparably to pre-COVID-19 rates. This work illuminates how the pandemic disrupted youth transitions to adulthood, particularly in marginalized communities.

Job tasks and cognitive skill accumulation

ABSTRACT Individuals’ cognitive skills can be improved through learning by doing various tasks at work. We report the results of studying rich information on job tasks performed at the individual level based on three measures of job task complexity: (i) overall job complexity, (ii) analytical task intensity, and (iii) interactive task intensity. Controlling for task selection, we show that both overall job task complexity and analytical tasks can contribute to the development of a worker’s cognitive skills, while interactive tasks play a less significant role. Furthermore, we find that complex job tasks can offset the effect of aging on cognitive functioning. We show the implications of our research results for work design, cognitive interventions, and retirement policies.

Misallocation and Inequality

For a large set of countries with different GDP per capita levels, we document how the distribution of labour earnings varies by development. Data reveals that the distribution of earnings changes with development in a particular way: while there is a larger mass at the left-tail, the right-tails shrinks, and moves towards the center. As a result, while the standard deviation of log earnings increases with development, the mean-to-median ratio declines. We interpret this fact within a model economy with heterogeneous workers and firms, which features industry dynamics, labor market frictions captured by a matching function, skill accumulation of workers with learning-by-doing and on-the-job training, and earnings inequality both across firms and workers. The benchmark economy is calibrated to the UK. We study how the earnings distribution changes as we increase two distortions in the benchmark economy: wedges on firms' output correlated with firm productivity and reductions in the labor market's ability to match unemployed workers and open vacancies. These distortions lead to the misallocation of resources and reduce employment and the GDP per capita. But they also affect how much firms are willing to pay to workers, how well higher skilled workers are matched with firms with higher productivity, and how much training workers receive. The model is consistent with a host of factors on how firm size distribution, firms' training decisions, and workers' life-cycle earnings profiles change with development and generates the observed patterns of changes in earnings distribution with development.

Victimization and Skill Accumulation

Victimization and Skill Accumulation

Winners and losers in a knowledge-based economy: investigating the policy packages for an inclusive growth based on a computable general equilibrium analysis of Korea

This study proposes a conceptual framework to investigate the economy-wide impacts of factor-biased technological change and the role of policy packages to spur inclusiveness of the economy. Based on this conceptual framework, this study explores the impacts of proposed policy-mixes in terms of growth and distribution using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The results show that the policy package consisting of innovation, education, and taxation policies has the potentials to serve as a policy option to achieve the inclusive growth. Our simulation results suggest that governments should adapt tax systems for the inclusive growth and adjustment mechanisms to help workers navigate sufficient opportunities for skill accumulation, and to facilitate technological innovation within the economic system. Our results shed light on the importance of the policy packages in resolving the side effects of factor-biased technological progress and spur the inclusive growth in the knowledge-based economy.

A Panel Study of Factor Accumulation and Export Quality

Cross-sectional data show Global North countries export higher quality products at a point in time. Product-level panel data can address if countries improve their export quality over time. The literature has addressed this practically relevant panel question only in small samples over the short term. We addressed it for a large sample, over the long run, focusing on the hitherto overlooked endogeneity between export quality and factor accumulation and the role of export composition. We utilized a two-tiered panel: the panel of countries and the panel of products each country trades. We found some evidence that middle-income countries often upgrade export quality within the same product, but that high- and low-income countries do this less often. Our results appear to support product cycle theory: some countries climb the value ladder, others are competed off from the ladder’s top, and new countries enter markets. Technology appears to be a potential basis for consolidating trade competitiveness over time, as skill accumulation becomes more widespread across countries and loses significance as an explanatory variable. Our results provide some explanation of why Global North countries might resist sharing technology. This research is timely with deadlocked multilateral trade negotiations and looming trade wars. It attempts to contribute to an evidence-based guide to trade policy.

Wealth distribution and skills generation under public and private education systems

Purpose This paper aims to understand the differing impacts of wealth distribution on human capital accumulation and skilled-unskilled labour generation under three educational paradigms as follows: private, public and a system of mixed education. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an overlapping generations model. Findings The wealth dynamics show that both in the private education system and public education system, there are two possible outcomes- stagnation and steady growth depending on the efficiency of the education system, skill premium and other parameters. The choice of the education system through voting is discussed. It is found that skilled workers would always vote for private education whilst unskilled workers vote for private education if public education expenditure of the economy is low. Research limitations/implications The study is subject to several limitations. This paper considers the rate of interest and wage rate to be exogenously given, and thus ignores the general equilibrium effects. The authors do not consider the labour-leisure choice. The introduction of labour leisure choice in the model would alter many of the results. The authors do not consider heterogeneous ability across individuals. The analysis of the differential efficiency of the different education systems needs further, rigorous research. Also, this paper does not consider other occupations such as entrepreneurship and self-employment. This paper considers the labour demand function to be perfectly elastic, and hence, does not consider any demand constraint. What happens if bequests are taxed? What happens if parents are not altruistic? These questions may be addressed in future research. Social implications If the proportion of tax paying skilled labour is low in any country, pure public education may not be able to generate sustained human capital growth. For countries with a sufficiently large proportion of skilled labour, the public education system would be successful. On the other hand, if skill premium is low or the education system is poorly managed private education system may fail too. Originality/value Whilst investigating the effects of public vs private education on growth and development in the presence of unequal wealth distribution, The authors have tried to address a few questions. First, why the public education system has been successful in skill accumulation in developed countries whilst it has failed to do so in less developed countries? Second, why do some countries with mostly privately run educational institutions perform much better in human capital production whilst others do not? Third, in an economy with unequal wealth distribution, what are the factors that result in public or private education as a voting equilibrium outcome?

A new educational paradigm: the formation of a didactically competent multicultural and multilingual personality (linguamultimedia competence of a foreign language teacher)

The global political, economic and social changes in the country and the strengthening of inter-ethnic and international contacts then integration processes in the multi-ethnic society have led to the emergence of a new educational paradigm. The basic requirement of which is the transition from the intuitive and technocratic disciplines’ connection, knowledge and skills accumulation to the increase of individual and social intelligence, from the classical and often «open» triad «knowledge - skills - abilities» to the closed cycle «knowledge - skills – abilities – foregrounding (application, technology) » - knowledge production, competence development though the priority is given to communication. This interpretation of the new educational paradigm has led to a need for a more thorough study of communication processes, including the intercultural communication in general and in the foreign languages teaching in particular. The society informatisation is seen not only as a technological phenomenon, but also as a modern culture phenomenon. Therefore, multimedia appears as the newest and rapidly expanding information environment of modern multicultural linguistic reality as the new technological reality.