Advancing adult learning in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

This report presents available evidence on adult education and training in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), differentiating two separate types: continuing vocational education and training (CVET) for the employed, sought either by employers or individuals, and retraining and second chance education for the non?employed. This paper presents available evidence on the extent and patterns of lifelong learning in ECA. It argues that advancing adult education and training in ECA is important not only to meet the new skills demands but also to respond to a rapidly worsening demographic outlook across most of the region. While it is not equally important for all ECA countries, adult education and training should be high on the agenda of those ECA economies that are closest to the technological frontier and facing a demographic decline, such as the new European Union (EU) member States and Russia. The paper lays out a framework for government action to advance adult learning in ECA through a mix consisting of policy coordination between government and the enterprise sector, a sound regulatory regime and appropriate financial incentives.Access&Equity in Basic Education,Education For All,Primary Education,Teaching and Learning,Gender and Education

Emerging from ethnic conflict : challenges for social protection design in transition countries

This paper is an attempt to shed some light on issues relating to social protection in transition countries, emerging from ethnic conflict. It analyzes how constraints posed both by conflict itself, and its ethnic nature, affect social protection policies, and suggests ways out. Both conflict, and continuing ethnic tensions thereafter, affect labor markets, as well as render social safety net policies difficult to implement. Instead, policymakers often have to resort to second-best solutions. In particular, in the light of precarious public finances, a limited ability of the government to provide services and assistance, with ethnic tensions massively constraining social safety nets, people will continue to rely on many wartime coping mechanisms. Social protection design has to be mindful of this, and may even build on these mechanisms. Furthermore, employment - formal and informal - needs to take over a key poverty alleviation role in a post-ethnic-war environment. The resulting main social protection policy implication, therefore, is to create the right conditions for the labor market to absorb those able to work.Poverty Assessment,National Governance,Safety Nets and Transfers,Rural Poverty Reduction,Post Conflict Reconstruction

Economic Convergence or Divergence in the EU? CEPS Commentary 4 October 2018

In preparation for the forthcoming annual conference of Intereconomics, three experts who will be speaking at the event will answer some of the core questions on the theme

Advancing adult learning in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

This report presents available evidence on adult education and training in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), differentiating two separate types: continuing vocational education and training (CVET) for the employed, sought either by employers or individuals, and retraining and second chance education for the non?employed. This paper presents available evidence on the extent and patterns of lifelong learning in ECA. It argues that advancing adult education and training in ECA is important not only to meet the new skills demands but also to respond to a rapidly worsening demographic outlook across most of the region. While it is not equally important for all ECA countries, adult education and training should be high on the agenda of those ECA economies that are closest to the technological frontier and facing a demographic decline, such as the new European Union (EU) member States and Russia. The paper lays out a framework for government action to advance adult learning in ECA through a mix consisting of policy coordination between government and the enterprise sector, a sound regulatory regime and appropriate financial incentives. Document type: Boo