Education in crisis - this way out

The American social reformer and women’s suffragist Jane Addams noted in 1910 that of all the aspects of social misery nothing is as heartbreaking as unemployment. To be without meaningful work is not only financially devastating, but also mentally and physically damaging. Unemployed workers and their families are twice as likely as those with jobs to experience poor self-esteem, depression, and anxiety – conditions that routinely led to serious physical health problems. Added to this is the destabilizing impact of ...

We’ve all heard the old adage about the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer. It’s a saying that’s rung particularly true in much of the world over the last thirty years.  Statistics show that income inequality reached historically high levels, particularly in many OECD countries just prior to the financial crisis of 2008.  And that’s prompted some people to wonder whether rising inequality played a role in provoking the financial meltdown. That suggestion of a causal link between inequality ...

Five years have passed since the onset of the economic crisis in the United States and in Europe, and much of the world’s economy still remains deeply depressed. Even in regions where the economic situation has stabilized, any growth that has arisen has not been sufficient enough to supply for the increasing demand for decent jobs. Unemployment and underemployment rates still remain high, especially amongst youth. In fact, the IMF has recently downgraded its long term projections for the global ...

“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” That’s the popular proverb accredited to former British politician Denis Healy. It’s a graphic way of saying that when you’re in a difficult situation, the first thing you should do is stop making it worse. When Healy first coined his Law of Holes in 1983 he was talking about the destructive arms race at the time between the United States and the Soviet Union. But his Law unfortunately rings equally true today ...

At the risk of sounding nostalgic, some things it seems really were better in the good old days. Depending upon our age, we might quibble about the music or the fashion styles, but there's one thing we can all probably agree on – the job prospects facing young people today are worse than ever. The International Labour Organization, in its Global Employment Trends for Youth 2012, says an estimated 75 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 will be ...