Recent Developments in the Identification and Estimation of Production Functions of Skills

an article by Flávio Cunha (University of Pennsylvania) published in Fiscal Studies: the journal of applied public economics Volume 32 Issue 2 (June 2011)

Abstract

This paper summarises the literature on the estimation of production functions governing the process of skill formation. This literature focuses on attacking three problems. The first is the endogeneity of measures of investments. The second is the measurement error in skills and investments that are widely used in the literature. Endogeneity and measurement error produce, in general, inconsistent estimates. The third problem is the lack of a metric for tests designed to measure skills. The fact that scores have no cardinal meaning implies that the coefficients of the production function have no economic meaning. We show that anchoring test scores on outcomes that have a natural metric produces estimates that are economically interpretable.

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Identifying Claimants Needs: …

Research into the Capability of Jobcentre Plus Advisers

DWP Research Report RR748

by Anne Bellis, Joy Oakley, Maria Sigala and Sara Dewson (Institute for Employment Studies, University of Sussex)

The identification of skills and skills needs is a feature of government employment services and is delivered through Work-Focused Interviews (WFI) conducted by Jobcentre Plus personal advisers. In addition to helping people to prepare and look for work, personal advisers can refer claimants for training provision or careers advice if this is deemed necessary to make a return to the labour market.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to:

• undertake research to explore how “skills need” is defined by Jobcentre Plus personal advisers;
• examine how claimants’ skills needs are identified by advisers at the present time; and
• build an understanding of how the identification of skills can be embedded within the Jobcentre Plus offer.

This research has been entirely qualitative and is based on observations of 112 WFIs conducted by 57 advisers across ten Jobcentre Plus districts. The collection of evidence included a series of short interviews with personal advisers to probe on key issues arising from the WFIs and the reasons for actions taken by advisers in relation to skills. Fieldwork for the study was carried out between September and November 2010.

June 2011 54 pages 297x210mm

ISBN 9-781-84712-982-6

Full report (PDF 41pp)

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