World Bank Document

UNESCO concluded that the poorUnemployment among the educated results of most adult literacyprograms were due to lack ofUnemployment statistics in developing paid job is sufficiently large, a period of demand. Where there is an explicitcountries are sparse and often hard to job-seeking or unemployment will yieldinterpret. Evidence on open unemploy- a higher expected "lifetime" income. need, results have been better. Forment (persons without a job and actively The educational pattern of unemployseekingemployment) indicates that it is ment is consistent with this explanation.example, a recent review foundthat agricultural extension-whichprimarily an urban phenomenon heavily It is not worthwhile for uneducatedconcentrated among workers in their workers to remain unemployed as theyis essentially an applied form ofadult education-generally helpedteens and early twenties. Since these are search for a well-paid job. At the otherthe ages at which individuals typically extreme, highly trained people are scarce to raise productivity; and theleave school or university, therehas been in many countries-so college graduates World Bank's experience withconcern that educational expansion in can get well-paid jobs immediately. But the "training and visit" (T & V)developing countries will produce a grow- those in between-the secondary-schooling problem of "educated unemploy- leavers-are neither assured of high-wageapproach to agricultural exten-sion, which puts great weight onment." But despite the increased outflowfor them, there may be high returns tojobs nor completely out of the running;of students over the past decade, partic- careful training and supervisionularly secondary-school graduates, there a full-time search for a job. Since theis no evidence of rising trends in open unemployed are young, with few depenoffield workers, is consistent withthis. In West Bengal, for example,unemployment rates. Unemployment dentsandoftensupportedbytheirfamilies, T & V was introduced in 1975 andstatistics from a number of countries do, and since most of them eventually find helped to raise the proportion ofhowever, suggest that secondary-school jobs, neither the social nor the privateleavers experience higher rates of unem- costs associated with this unemployment land area planted with highploymentthan the uneducated or those are as serious as might appear. yielding wheat and paddy varietieswith postsecondary education. Moreover, the fact that some primary- from less than 2 percent to 40By and large, educated unemployment and secondary-school leavers are unemappearsto be associated with the processes ployed does not imply that the economypercent, in a single year. WhileT & V is effective even with illitthroughwhich the labor market adjusts is unable to make productive use of moreto an increased supply of school leavers. of them. Various studies have shown erates, literate farmers tend to beFirst, the earnings expectations or job thatthe social rate of returnto investment more responsive to suggestedpreferences of school leavers may not in education may be high despite the changes.keep pace with changes in labor market number of educated unemployed. Butconditions brought about by increased in the eyes of governments, frustrated Implementing investment prioritiesnumbers of workers with educational school leavers or college graduates cancredentials. Second, the structure of wages form a politically volatile group. Some The education received by poormay be slow to adjust-especially if the governments have therefore virtually children depends on three things.public sector is a major employer of guaranteed public-sector jobs for posteducatedworkers. School leavers may secondary leavers whether or not thereThe first is accessibility-are thereschool places for them within athen be encouraged to wait for jobs in has been socially productive work for reasonable distance from home?well-paid occupations rather than imme- them to do. This can result in a majordiately acceptajobthatpays significantly drain on government revenues and impede The second is use-do their parless;if the wage difference is high enough the diffusion of educated manpower into ents send them to school, and areand the probability of obtaining a higher- more productive uses as well. they allowed or encouraged todrop out? The third concerns thequality of the education thatinstitutions) to develop vocational later on-the-job training or short- schools provide.skills. Vocational and technical term courses (which may be neededschools often find it difficult to more than once in a lifetime) are ACCESSIBILITY. Financing constrikethe right balance between more likely to be successful, espe- straints will often be compoundedgeneral preemployment training cially if, as in Brazil, Chile and by difficulties in reaching the poorand the provision of specialized Singapore, there is coordination -distance, low-density populaskills,and are often slow to adjust with potential employers. tions and poor communicationstothe economy's changing needs. so that building schools andIn many school systems where ADULT EDUCATION. Certain supplying books, equipment andcompetition for higher education types of adult education play a qualified teachers is a difficult andis strong, they also suffer from low useful role. To be effective, adult expensive task. For example, theprestige. education must be conducted by Nepalese government estimatesBy contrast, institutions that dedicated and responsible teachers, that it costs more than twice asprovide training in skills with wide and must address specific, felt much to build and equip a schoolapplicability as a foundation for needs; after a major review, in mountainous regions as it does51