The World Bank Gordon Betcherman World Bank Education as a Strategic Investment Conference February 14, 2009 Education as an Investment Competencies, Jobs, and Growth
The World Bank 2 2 Serbia’s employment rate lags well below successful transition countries and EU targets Lisbon target
The World Bank 3 3 Currently, skills are not the major barrier to growth and jobs… % of firms that reporting as a significant constraint BEEPS 2005
The World Bank 4 4 So why worry about skills? Experience of EU new member states Already some evidence of shortages in Serbia Labor market rewards skills Education combats social and economic exclusion Population aging Interplay of skills and innovation is key to Lisbon Agenda
The World Bank 5 5 Skills will become a more important barrier with further development % of firms that reporting as a significant constraint BEEPS 2005
The World Bank 6 6 Modern firms demand higher skills Percentage of workforce with tertiary education “Modern” firms “Traditional” firms
The World Bank 7 7 Education leads to better labor market outcomes Education leads to better labor market outcomes Adjusted wage premium relative to basic education Non-agriculture workers under 35
The World Bank 8 8 Early investments are the most critical Source: Heckman and Masterov
The World Bank 9 9 Skills can bring marginalized into the labor market Labor market status of Czech Roma
The World Bank 10 The World Bank 10 Aging places a premium on education % Population Change,
The World Bank 11 The World Bank 11 Most workers in EU need to be prepared to do non-routine tasks Proportion of all workers reporting to be…: