Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: The Role of Vocational Education in Economic Development.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper states that, although education has been linked historically to economic development, there is no clear evidence that this link is valid. It investigates under what conditions educational programs are likely to be effective and which are likely to shift resources without any net effects on employment, wage levels, productivity, or economic growth. This six-chapter issue paper examines several interpretations of economic development and analyzes their implications for the role of vocational education. The oldest approach to economic development, luring employment from neighboring localities or states ("smokestack chasing"), is the subject of Chapter 1. This notion has been superseded in many places by a superior one--that regions should increase employment by generating new employment. The different ways of enhancing employment in the aggregate are explained from either a macroeconomic approach (Chapter 2) or a microeconomic approach (Chapter 3). A new role for vocational education--customized training for specific firms--is the subject of Chapter 4, and technology transfer programs and small business development centers are the topic of Chapter 5. In the concluding chapter, these conceptions of economic development clarify what education programs can and cannot do to enhance economic development and clarify the conditions under which vocational education can be truly effective as a mechanism for economic development. An appendix discusses the microeconomics of vocational education. A 36-item reference list is included. (KC)