workforce

The authors simulate an endogenous growth model with human capital linking demographic changes and income growth. Rising longevity increases the incentive to get education, which in turn has ever-lasting effects on growth through a human capital externality.

Demographic change has been recognised as a key determinant for explaining social change. Population changes are fairly predictable and the age transition can explain a wide range of socio-economic changes. For rural futures, demographic change is a key issue, since age structure in rural areas is often uneven and also unstable due to migration patterns. A number of policy related questions as well as research challenges are raised as a consequence.

The health of the European workforce is a crucial issue as the share of old age people as well as the mean age increases. Ill health might in this respect be a factor of severe disadvantage for regions to improve their economic performance. Policies directed to reduce ill health could be considered as an important tool in regional development. The results consistently highlight health as an important determinant of regional economic performance. Healthy municipalities generally have a stronger local economy than those characterised by ill health.

The authors analyze the effects of offshoring of intermediate input production on labor demand in Sweden, distinguishing between workers with different educational attainments. The econometric results using data for the 1995-2000 period indicate that offshoring - in particular to low-income countries - tends to shift labor demand away from workers with an intermediate level of education. Offshoring to high-income countries, which is the largest component of overall offshoring, does not have any statistically significant effect on the composition of labor demand.

This World Bank Policy Research Working Paper estimates the rate of return to firm investments in human capital in the form of formal job training. They use a panel of large firms with unusually detailed information on the duration of training, the direct costs of training, and several firm characteristics such as their output, workforce characteristics, and capital stock. Formal job training is a good investment for many firms and the economy, possibly yielding higher returns than either investments in physical capital or investments in schooling.

This paper reviews the political uproar over offshore outsourcing connected with the release of the Economic Report of the President (ERP) in February 2004, examines the differing ways in which economists and non-economists talk about offshore outsourcing, and assesses the empirical evidence on the importance of offshore outsourcing in accounting for the weak labor market from 2001 to 2004. The evidence offered suggests that increased employment in the overseas affiliates of U.S. multinationals is associated with more employment in the U.S. parent rather than less.

This examination of the New York City economy argues that although the the city has not recaptured the payroll employment level of its peak in 2001, a broader view of the citys economic health, including alternative job measures, wage and salary earnings and a composite index of economic activity, shows that New York continues upon a healthy thrity year trend of job growth.

The author argues further study is necessary to determine whether or not new technologies are increasing the demand for skilled workers. Based on current data, it seems equally possible that new skills in the workforce are leading to the spread of workplace technologies.

This paper takes a new look at the issue of overseas
sourcing of services. The author claims that the reduction of employment in some routine tasks in rich countries in a general equilibrium helps sustain and reinforces employment in the core competencies in such countries. That is, the loss of some jobs permits to retain the core competencies in the core countries.

Despite industry claims to the contrary, the recovery of the U.S. information technology (IT) sector has not created enough new jobs for IT workers, according to the report. The report cites the rise in global IT outsourcing as a factor in the protracted recovery. A growing number of processes and services associated with the industry "have been outsourced to providers in low-wage countries," leaving U.S. IT workers un- or under-employed.