Technological acceleration, increased global engagement, and national aspirations to restructure its economy and promote innovation have persuaded China to intensify an emphasis on skills acquisition through technical-vocational education and training (TVET). After a background of China's experience, this paper examines the case of Gansu, the…

Since the introduction of workplace computers in the 1970s, policymakers have been racing to outpace the workforce demands of the information age. To address concerns, policymakers have promoted an expansion of skills training to help workers keep up in the changing economy. Because the way people learn, work, and live is transforming, so should…

In 2007, New York City launched the first test of a conditional cash transfer program in the United States. Called Family Rewards, the program sought to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty by offering cash assistance to poor families to reduce immediate hardship, but conditioned this assistance on families' efforts to improve their…

As immigration has reached historic numbers in the United States, immigrant children have become an integral part of the national tapestry. While immigration has grown across all post-industrial nations, inequality has risen at a steep rate on a variety of indicators, including income distribution, child poverty, residential segregation, and…

This country has long debated the question of how to design the welfare system, particularly the federally supported Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program which provides cash assistance to families headed primarily by female single parents. A pressing issue is whether welfare programs should continue to be broad entitlements or…

Examines the development of Federal job training programs, including the Job Corps, the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), and the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Argues that these programs have actually harmed participants and wasted millions of tax dollars. (FMW)

This paper analyzes how variation in participant take-up rates affected the impacts of the New Hope project, a random-assignment, anti-poverty program. New Hope offered experimental members four benefits--child care subsidies, wage subsidies, health insurance, and, if needed, a temporary community service job--that were available to families…

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…