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The State of Victoria is a knowledge-intensive centre for Australia: educational services are Victoria's strongest export worth more than AUD five billion, surpassing tourism and automotive sectors. Victoria is a magnet for immigration and the international student enrolment represents over 30 per cent of the total for Australia. The higher education system in Australia is moving to a more competitive phase with the decision that the government funding will follow students wherever they choose to enroll. How can Victoria continue to increase participation in higher education and widen access to lower socio-economic groups? How can its higher education institutions help transform Victoria into an innovative state with knowledge-intensive industries and jobs? This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for regional development. It is part of the series of the OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

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This publication contains the papers prepared for the seminar on 'International mobility of highly skilled workers: from statistical analysis to the formulation of policies', held in Paris, 11-12 June 2001. The seminar was jointly organised by the OECD Directorates for Science, Technology and Industry (DSTI) and Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (DEELSA). In a global context where shortages of highly skilled and specialised workers have influenced national migration policies, the seminar focused on the provision and comparability of data on international mobility of highly skilled workers in OECD countries and some non-OECD nations, the impact on their economies, and the development of migration policies that are beneficial for both sending and receiving countries. The publication is organised into three sections: the first presents the definitions and measures of international stock and flows of highly skilled workers and human resources in science and technology (HRST); the second draws on case studies of OECD Member countries and non-Member countries to investigate trends and economic implications of international mobility of highly skilled workers; and the third section discusses how policy measures in the area of migration and science and technology can influence international mobility of highly skilled workers. Part one, 'Defining and measuring international flows of human resources in science and technology', contains the papers: Human resources in science and technology: measurement issues and international mobility / Laudeline Auriol and Jerry Sexton; Student mobility between and towards OECD countries: a comparative analysis / Karine Tremblay. Part two, 'Trends and economic impact in OECD countries', contains the papers: International mobility of highly skilled workers: from statistical analysis to policy formulation / Dominique Guellec and Mario Cervantes; The measurement of international migration to Canada / Michael Bordt; International mobility of human resources in science and technology in Japan: available data, quality of sources, concepts and proposals for further study / Shin-ichi Kobayashi; A brain drain among young PhDs: mirage or reality? / Daniel Martinelli; Why do firms recruit internationally?: results from the IZA International Employer Survey 2000 / Rainer Winkelmann; Return migration of highly-skilled Irish into Ireland and their impact on GNP and earning inequality / Alan Barrett. Part three, 'Trends and economic impact in non-OECD countries', contains the papers: Mass migration of highly skilled workers: Israel in the 1990s / Ari Paltiel; International migration of scientists and engineers in Russia / Leonid Gokhberg and Elena Nekipelova; International mobility of China's resources in science and technology and its impact / Zhang Guochu and Li Wenjun; Rethinking high-skilled international migration: research and policy issues for India's information economy / V. Gayathri; Migration of skilled and highly skilled workers [in] South Africa: a case study / Jean-Baptiste Meyer. Part four, 'Policy issues', contains the papers: The mobility of human resources in science and technology in Sweden / Anne-Marie Gaillard; High-skill migration and Chinese Taipei's industrial development / Yu-Ling Luo and Wei-Jen Wang; Policies for admitting highly skilled workers into the United States / Philip Martin; Migration policies designed to facilitate the recruitment of skilled workers in Australia / Graeme Hugo; The current 'green card' initiative for foreign IT specialists in Germany / Heinz Werner; International mobility of highly skilled workers: the UK perspective / Nicolas Rollason.

Selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 69.320 to TD/TNC 69.326. Show less

In December 2000, the OECD and Human Resources Development Canada convened an international conference on 'Lifelong learning as an affordable investment' in Ottawa, Canada. The conference provided a forum to discuss the following questions concerning society's investment in lifelong learning: (a) what resources are likely to be required in order to make lifelong learning for all a reality?; (b) under what conditions can that goal be made more affordable to society?; and (c) what is the role of public policy in helping to meet those conditions? This report draws on earlier work by the OECD and the conference proceedings to address these issues and provides a summary of the conference proceedings as an annex. The first chapter outlines the broad questions addressed in the report and the second chapter provides an analysis of the key economic and social forces influencing the lifelong learning initiative and identifies some of the inequalities caused by these trends. The next two chapters investigate resource allocation and a framework for financing lifelong learning, and the costs and benefits of learning at different stages of the life cycle. Chapter five highlights general funding issues relevant to lifelong learning and examines potential new funding mechanisms. The concluding chapter looks at ways in which policy processes and mechanisms will have to adapt to meet the lifelong learning challenge. Show less

Few would dispute that having a higher education is more important than ever to help people build positive economic futures and strengthen the knowledge economies of countries. Yet, as this brief explains, OECD countries have adopted dramatically different strategies for increasing higher education access, both in terms of how higher education is financed, and in the level of financial support they provide to individuals seeking a degree. Show less

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have experienced increasing pressures to provide accountability data and consumer information on the quality of teaching and learning. But existing ratings and rankings of HEIs tend to neglect information on student learning outcomes. Instead, they focus on inputs, activities and research outputs, such as resources used, classes taught, and articles published. Such indicators provide no indication of the degree to which HEIs actually develop the knowledge and skills of their students. In most countries, hardly any comparable information is available on the educational quality of different programs and institutions. In some countries, approaches to assess higher education learning outcomes have been developed, but little cross-country information is available on the characteristics of the instruments used. This paper provides an overview of experience gained in this domain across OECD and partner countries. Based on illustrative evidence collected for 18 assessment instruments, it examines conceptual, organisational and methodological aspects of existing assessments. It proposes a typology of higher education learning outcomes and reviews the ways in which these have been assessed across countries. Examples are drawn from Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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This outlook analyses prospective economic developments in OECD countries over the next two years and provides recommendations on the economic policies needed to ensure sustained economic growth. Chapters include: I. General assessment of the macroeconomic situation; II. Developments in individual OECD countries; III. Developments in selected non-member economies; IV. The size and role of automatic fiscal stabilisers; V. Making work pay; VI. Public debt management at the cross-roads; and VII. Cross-country patterns of product market regulation. Statistical data is also included. Show less

Choosing a field of study means choosing a career, a professional identity, a sector of society, and to a certain extent also a way of life and a set of values. Yet there is no longer a straightforward relationship between the subject studied and future employment, as today's students have a variety of ways to acquire new skills and multiple paths to specialise in different domains. People change jobs and professions more frequently and job mobility is becoming an increasingly important feature of contemporary labour markets.

This brief paper examines what tertiary students are choosing to study and makes the following points: (1) the social sciences are the most popular field for non-vocational tertiary education programs; one in three new students choose a program in social sciences, business and law; (2) gender equality has been virtually achieved in many fields of study, especially in social sciences and services but significant gender differences persist in computing and engineering (male-dominated) and in health and welfare and education (female-dominated); and (3) almost one in four international students in OECD countries follow programs in the field of business and administration (23 per cent), and the proportion of international students from fields oriented to the public function such as education (three per cent) or health and welfare (nine per cent) is lower on average.

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This paper looks at a number of efficiency and equity aspects related to skill acquisition of young people and older adults. The results of this analysis suggest that such human capital investment is associated with valuable labour market gains for people, such as higher wages and enhanced employability, and that these gains exceed the original investment costs, mainly foregone earnings and tuition fees, by a significant margin. The analysis also indicates that the net benefits are strongly influenced by policy-related factors, such as study length, tuition subsidies and student support. Overall, the estimates suggest that there are strong incentives for the average student to continue their education past the compulsory schooling age, and highlight the benefits of such investment in education for society in general. However, the net gains fall with age, mainly as a result of a shorter period in which to take advantage of the benefits of education. In conclusion, the author points out that students in higher education tend to come from more affluent socio-economic backgrounds and that they benefit from large public subsidies. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, on the other hand, are less likely to participate in tertiary education and thus derive the benefit from public subsidies. Show less

The conference on 'Industrial competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy - the new role of government', held in Stockholm on 19-21 February, 1997, provided a policy forum to discuss the implications of the trends towards increased globalisation and the knowledge-based economy for the role of governments with regard to industrial competitiveness. This report brings together most of the contributions including the general introduction by the Swedish Minister of Industry, the opening address of the Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, and a summary of the conference debate. The contributions are as follows: Welcome and opening remarks / Anders Sundstrom; Opening address / Joanna Shelton; Industrial competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy: the new role of government / Keith Drake. Part I focuses on the changing nature of the firm and comprises the following papers: Technology and the changing boundaries of firms and governments / John H. Dunning; Human-resource aspects of the changing nature of the firm: issues, evidence and public policy implications / Gordon Betcherman; Foreign direct investment, country characteristics and lessons for policy / James R. Markusen; Firms, executives and models of action: dominant views vs. empirical business research / Lars Engwall; The changing nature of the firm: what's new?: velocity / Douglas C. Worth. Part II asks if we are moving towards a borderless economy and includes the following papers: Notes on a borderless world / Everett M. Ehrlich; Europe's industrial policy: promoting openness, flexibility and innovation / Stefano Micossi; Human capital formation and industrial competitiveness / Naohiro Yashiro. Part III examines the national agenda and increasing interaction between macroeconomic and structural policy. It contains the following papers: Macroeconomic and structural policy in the knowledge-based economy / Luc Soete; Structural economic policy in an integrated world / Everett M. Ehrlich. Part IV looks at intangible assets within the following papers: Evaluating the importance of intangibles: how are they managed and accounted for and how do they contribute to growth and employment? / Ulf Johanson; Economics and the working environment and human resource accounting / Heikki Rouhesmaa; Human resource accounting and reporting / Willem Dercksen. Part V discusses knowledge infrastructures and flows. The papers are: Knowledge flows in national innovation systems / Jean Guinet; The effectiveness of the diffusion-oriented technology policy of Switzerland: the case of advanced manufacturing technologies / Heinz Hollenstein; Part VI on enterprises and social responsibility contains the paper: The social responsibility of enterprises: a new role for governments? / Stefan Wolter. Part VII examines intellectual property rights and the papers are: Collective research and IPRs in the global environment / Georges Ferne; Turning research into results / John N. Adams; The appropriation of technology: the situation in French industry / Jean-Paul Francois. The final session is contained in the paper: Learning to govern in the knowledge economy: policy co-ordination or institutional competition? / Peter J. Sheehan. Show less

Tackling mental ill-health of the working-age population is becoming a key issue for labour market and social policies in OECD countries. OECD governments increasingly recognise that policy has a major role to play in keeping people with mental ill-health in employment or bringing those outside of the labour market back to it, and in preventing mental illness. This report on Sweden is the second in a series of reports looking at how the broader education, health, social and labour market policy challenges identified in ‘Sick on the job?: myths and realities about mental health and work’ (OECD, 2012) are being tackled in a number of OECD countries. It concludes that Swedish policy makers recognise the need to take steps to tackle mental ill-health and its labour market implications, but that a more comprehensive reform effort and a long-term commitment to it is needed in order to prevent problems from arising in the first place and respond more effectively when they do occur.

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