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List of contents
1. Investing in Education. Hans Heijke and Lex Borghans. Part 1. Prospects. 2. Future Developments in the Job Level and Domain of High-Skilled Workers. Andries de Grip, Lex Borghans and Wendy Smits. 3. The Return to Education. Jaap de Koning. 4. Labour Market Forecasts and Choice of Education. Dinand Webbink. Part 2. Flexibility. 5. A Job to Match your Education: Does it Matter? Joop Hartog and Nicole Jonker. 5. Flexibility and Structure of the Dutch Labour Market. Lex Borghans and Hans Heijke. 7. Asymmetric Skill Substitution, Labour Market Flexibility, and the Allocation of Qualifications. Adriaan van Zon, Joan Muysken and Huub Meijers. Part 3. Curriculum. 8. Curriculum Characteristics and Labour Market Perspectives. Wim Nijhof. 9. Does Curriculum Matter? A Theoretical Clue to an Empirical Puzzle. Aire Glebbeek and Sietske Waslander. 10. Education, Skills and Wages. Hans Heijke, Mieke Koeslag and Rolf van der Velden.
Summary
First published in 1998, this collection of essays strongly advocates for increased flexibility in the Dutch labour market and questions current assumptions on the connections between education choices and ultimate employment outcomes. The volume responds to the glaring contradiction between the current mass unemployment in all European nations, both in urban and rural areas, affecting people of different levels of education (though primarily those of low-skills levels or ethnic backgrounds) and the idea that labour is the most important source of wealth. Its objective is to develop insights, ideas, and experiences concerning the possibilities for increasing the transparency of the labour market. The contributors recognise that the quality of labour has rapidly become the key factor in economic and social development.
