This Tax Policy Study on Taxation and Skills examines how tax policy can encourage skills development in OECD countries. This study also assesses the returns to tertiary and adult education and examines how these returns are shared between governments and students. The study builds indicators that examine incentives for individuals and governments…

All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. This book looks at the different ways in which governments support families. It seeks to provide answers to questions like: Is spending on family benefits going up, and how does it vary by the age of the child? Has the crisis affected public support for…

Since his inauguration in July 2001, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has proposed to take actions in the areas of macroeconomic stabilization; reopening of country's access to international financial markets; budget modernization and state decentralization; social policy; revamping of the armed forces, police, and internal security services;…

Population aging was one of the most distinctive events of the 20th century and will remain important throughout the 21st century. Initially, a phenomenon of more developed countries, the process has recently become apparent in much of the developing world as well. The shift in age structure associated with population aging has a profound impact…

Economic issues are an important part of the debate over child care policy. This volume presents findings from economic analyses of research on child care issues surrounding recent policy decisions and scholarly debates. The book's introduction discusses four main issues; government involvement in child care policies, its effect on quality of…

Designed to provide a basis for sound child welfare policy decisions, this book presents current state and national data, as well as data from many cities and counties, on child maltreatment. The six chapters in the book present statistics on: (1) child abuse and neglect, including child abuse fatalities; (2) out-of-home care; (3) adoption; (4)…

In many big cities, noneducators are being asked to create rescue strategies for the public schools. In Cleveland (Ohio) and Chicago (Illinois), mayors have taken over the school systems, and in the District of Columbia and Baltimore (Maryland), reform boards have been asked to improve the schools. This book is designed to help these noneducators…

This book provides an overview of economic trends and social issues in the 13 states and 399 counties of Appalachia, with emphasis on implications for families, children, and communities. It places the trends and issues of the Appalachian region within a national context. These trends include declining employment opportunities and wages, increased…

This report constitutes a step toward designing an integrated strategy for rural poverty reduction in Brazil. The report contains an updated and detailed profile of the rural poor in the northeast and southeast regions of Brazil; identifies key components of rural poverty in those regions; and proposes a five-pronged strategic framework in which…

This study explored the implications of demographic trends on the quality of the future labor force and on public social expenditures. It also focused on the educational costs and social benefits of educational and immigration policy alternatives designed to close the gap in educational attainment between non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics and…

Although U.S. policymakers have adopted the view that work is the solution to poverty, work may not ensure a decent standard of living for many families. This report estimates the number of families who are not making ends meet. It examines the cost of living in various communities in every state and determines "basic family budgets" for…

Representing an important University of Colorado effort to relate university research directly to social policy and practice, this book examines several decades of indicators that reflect changes in children's behavior as well as social-environmental factors that influence their development. Articles in the book provide a volume overview and…

Claiming that politicians, private interests, and the media unfairly blame adolescents for America's social problems, this book explodes various myths about teen pregnancy, violence, and risk behaviors. The chapters are: (1) "Impounding the Future," examining trends in various social indicators such as rising rates of child poverty…

Although the 1996 welfare reform bill reduced welfare rolls, falling caseloads do not necessarily mean a better standard of living for families. This book examines the evidence and evaluates whether welfare reform has met one of its chief goals--improving the well-being of the nation's poor children. The chapters of the book are as follows: (1)…

The rising wage inequality in U.S. urban labor markets during the 1980s was examined in a study of 20 metropolitan area labor markets. The study's perspective differs from the prevailing perspective on the problem in three ways: (1) it focuses on changes in the wage structure in a sample of local labor markets; (2) it examines changes in the…