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on Education |
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Issue of 2011‒12‒05
six papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Alina - Irina Popescu |
| Abstract: | The impact of higher education institutions on the regional economy is now more important the ever, due not only to their role as providers of education and research, but also to their linkages to the economic, social and cultural surroundings. The paper explores the relationship between the higher education and the regional development, bringing evidence from the eight development regions of Romania: Bucharest and Ilfov, Center, West, North-West, North-East, South-East, South, and South-West, on the most widely used development indicators, according to the methodology proposed by OECD for the assessment of the local engagement of higher education institutions. The analysis reveals the needs to improve the relevance of university education, to widen and strengthen the collaboration between higher education institutions and the business environment, to improve the flexibility of the workforce by re-skilling and up-skilling through lifelong learning. In collaboration with regional and local authorities, universities are in the need to develop and expand learning and skills development programmes, research activities and outreach efforts to support the cultural and creative industry development of the regions they are embedded in, taking also into consideration the international dimension by building stronger connections with students, researchers and professionals from Europe and abroad. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p1327&r=edu |
| By: | Peter Huber |
| Abstract: | The migration literature shows that cross-border skill transfer is associated with a risk of increased job-education mismatch. This paper examines whether the problems of job-education mismatch often found among migrants also apply to cross-border commuters and compares cross-border commuters to within-country commuters as well as non-commuters and recent and established migrants in this respect. We find that cross-border commuters and recent migrants from EU15 countries have lower over- but higher under-education rates than non-commuters, but that for cross-border commuters and recent migrants from the NMS12 the opposite applies. Within-country commuters finally have lower over- but higher under-education rates than non-commuters in both regions. Please note: The alternative choice regarding Session theme is K. Spatial issues of the labour market |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p112&r=edu |
| By: | Isabel Raposo; Tatiane Menezes |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the educational efficiency as determined only by the variables directly controlled by the school, isolated from the influence of other environmental characteristics, such as student’s socioeconomic status, that might influence efficiency as well. An alternative application of Simar and Wilson (2007) two-stage DEA’s approach is adopted using data from public schools in the basic education level from the Northeast Region of Brazil. The results have showed that the rank of efficiency becomes much more homogeneous after isolating from the effect of environmental variables as compared to the rank produced from a simple one-stage DEA. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p1594&r=edu |
| By: | Edward Bergman |
| Abstract: | European universities have lost--and partially regained--key research academics to North American and other attractive university systems. EU efforts to reverse the cycle revolve around the establishment of an attractive European Research Area, within which future academic mobility--and commercial knowledge transmission--might be confined. This paper draws upon a survey of 1800 academics in 200 of Europe's most research-intensive universities to understand the principal reasons that underlie contemporary academic mobility. Mobility is conceptualised in Hirschmann terms as 'exit' from an inadequately performing university, rather than remaining 'loyal' to its existing regime or staying to exercise 'voice' in bringing about necessary improvements. The results from logit modeling of choices and options indicate clearly that academics who evidence either 'loyalty' or 'voice' are significantly less likely to be mobile. Moreover, those who are mobile refuse to restrict possible destinations to the ERA if they value better material conditions or better quality of colleagues, students or university reputation. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p1134&r=edu |
| By: | Jose Polo; Néstor Duch; Martà Parellada |
| Abstract: | In this paper we empirically analyze the effects of collaboration in innovation with universities on the firm’s innovative performance. Using data from the Technological Innovation Panel dataset (PITEC for its acronym in Spanish) we have constructed a database of 4643 innovative firms in Spain, where we estimate the impact of different types of collaborative partnerships on the increments on firm’s range and quality of products, and on the improvements of the firm’s production capacity and flexibility. The estimation from an ordered logit model shows that firms collaborating actively with universities, as well as, firms that use universities as their principal source of information are more prone to have product and process additionalities, while subcontracting specific R&D activities to universities do not seem to affect the firm’s innovative performance. A sensitive analysis shows that firms belonging to manufacturing sectors benefit more from the collaboration with universities than firms from services sectors. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p671&r=edu |
| By: | Harvey Goldstein; Edward Bergman; Gunther Maier |
| Abstract: | University researchers are now considered by many as key actors in the building of knowledge economies in their regions, as universities are assumed to be important engines of regional economic well-being. Yet within the academy not all faculty are accepting of these roles for their institutions, for a variety of reasons. We measure faculty attitudes towards their universities being involved in (a) assisting regional economic development and (b) the commercialization of knowledge more generally using web-based surveys. Then using secondary data from a variety of sources, we attempt to explain the variation in attitudes among faculty in terms of: (i) individual attributes and professional experiences, (ii) scholarly disciplinary of the faculty member, (iii) institutional characteristics of their respective university, and (iv) regional economic conditions. Using ordered logit models, we test to see if faculty view a distinction in appropriateness of universities assisting economic development versus appropriateness of the commercialization of knowledge, whether there are differences between U.S. and EU faculty in their attitudes towards each type of activity, and whether faculty in regions undergoing industrial restructuring or in economic distress have more favorable attitudes towards each activity. Results to-date indicate that faculty have more favorable attitudes towards their universities assisting regional economic development compared to commercialization of knowledge, that universities individual and disciplinary variables are more important than institutional and regional economic variables, and that there are strong similarities in attitudes between U.S. and EU faculty attitudes, but with a few interesting exceptions. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p301&r=edu |