Aim of the SCHOLAR project

The key focus of the SCHOLAR project is twofold. Firstly it is on the efficiency of the transition from education and the labor market and its consequences for economic development. Secondly it is on the equity aspects of the transition between education and the labor market. The social bottle-necks and the analysis of the problems of the optimal co-ordination between the demand and the supply of educated workers and the optimal production of knowledge and skills, result in the following four social relevant research questions:

• What is the optimal investment in schooling (education and training) during the life-cycle? What is the optimal timing of schooling decisions? And to what extent would this improved efficiency go at the cost of equity considerations?
• What is the optimal division between investments in general skills and vocational skills, and what is the optimal provision of vocational skills?
• What are optimal transitions between: i) home and school; ii) school and work; iii) work, unemployment and non-participation in the labor market; iv) from one job to another? And to what extent does schooling affect these transitions?
• What are the effects of all these on the efficiency of the labor market and economic development, and how can public policy improve the efficiency of the labor market and economic development?

In the past years a number of government reports and `white papersｴ have been published that call attention to (some of these) social problems. Reference can be made to the report of the government committee `Education - labour market: towards a working trajectory (`Onderwijs- arbeidsmarkt: naar een werkzaam trajectｴ) from 1990 and the report `Vocational education by many tracksｴ (`Beroepsvorming langs vele wegenｴ) from 1993. In these reports the government is advised on the co-operation between students, employees, firms, schools, institutions and the government to further the transition between education and the labor market. Another relevant government paper is the recently published report by the `Committee educational trackingｴ from 1995, which argues for clear criteria of the rights to education and the extent to which this is subsidized by the government.

In a report by the Scientific Council for Government Policy, titled `Higher education in phasesｴ (`Hoger onderwijs in fasenｴ) attention is called for the transition problems between higher education (HBO and university) and the labor market. In a report titled `To do justice to diversity from 1994 the same problems are addressed for the lower secondary education level (VBO/MAVO). In this report it is stated that firms need broadly educated workers. It does some proposals for a broad basic education in higher education and a fewer number of fields of study. Also in a number of Parliamentary papers the transition problems which are central to this project are highlighted (see for example the annual Social Papers by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment).

Due to the lack of adequate research, many of the recommendations in the aforementioned reports are not based on sound empirical evidence. By the empirical research within this project more insight can be obtained in the validity of several of the policy proposals.

Scientific relevance of the SCHOLAR project

In general the disciplines of economics, psychology, sociology and education are doing research in the area of the social problems we mentioned before. The research efforts in the separate disciplines differs in the explanatory concepts, in the data used, and in the analytical methods applied. This complementary approach of educational problems can have a synergetic effect to a multi-disciplinary approach. The economics of education is largely focused on the economic effects of skills acquired by education, while educationalists focus on how these skills are actually acquired through education. Sociologists of education look at the social stratification that is the result of educational selection, while psychologists of education search for methods for efficient selection in education.

The scientific relevance of the project `Education, labour market and economic development' is the links that are made between theories, research methods and research results from these different disciplines. The social problems on which the project is founded require a multi-disciplinary approach, as the effects of the problems cross the boundaries of the different disciplines while the solutions to these problems involve these different specialities as well. Further, the approaches of the different disciplines towards these social problems and the significance of education in solving these problems are largely complementary.

The multi-disciplinary co-operation will, among others, include on the formulation of new theories, construction of models, and the application and development of research techniques. The project will aim at a integrated approach to these aspects. The multi-disciplinary co-operation will result in: combination and integration of concepts, research methods, development of theories, testing of theories0, and the development of policy instruments.

To achieve these goals the project will be organized around different themes, each of which cross the boundaries of the separate disciplines. The themes will be explored from different angles and research areas. The relevance of a long-term interdisciplinary research program is found in the cohesion and comparability of research results within one joint program. This may improve the co-ordination and information between education and the labour market and its effects on economic development. The issue of the co-ordination problem as an information problem is the binding element in the project. To answer these questions use will be made of the empirical and theoretical knowledge of the forementioned disciplines. The question, after all, are educational problems with economic implications. Educational, psychological and sociological themes in the area of labour markets and education will be researched in an integrated research program, and their economic implications will be dealt with.

The excess value of this project is found in the integrated vision - obtained from combining insights from different disciplines - on the co-ordination problems in education and the labor market, and the effects of these on economic development and equity.

The value of this project is further found in the fostering of research on the economics of education in the Netherlands. Relative to the sociology and the psychology of education, the field of the economics of education is underdeveloped in the Netherlands. Also, if its compared to the United States, relatively little research efforts are put into the economics of education. Both compared to other disciplines and compared to the situation in other countries, the economics of education is lagging behind in the Netherlands. This project will stimulate and contribute to the development of research on the economics of education in the Netherlands.

Themes

For the elaboration of the social and scientific questions, five themes are formulated. These themes are structured by transitions within the educational system and the labor market. The themes include:

• The transition from home to school;
• The progression within schooling- and training systems;
• The transition from school to work;
• The transitions between work, unemployment and non-participation in the labor market;
• The transition from one job to another.