Labour Market Transitions in South Africa: What can we learn from matched Labour Force Survey data?

We generate a longitudinal dataset using the rotating panel component of the nationally representative Labour Force Surveys from 2001 to 2003. We then estimate the transition probabilities across different labour market states over a six month period. We find that unemployed searchers are more likely to find employment than the non-searching unemployed. Informal sector workers are more likely to find formal sector employment than the searching unemployed. Whites are more likely to find and remain in formal sector jobs. However, some part of the Black-White unemployment gap arises from unemployed Whites leaving the labour force at a higher rate.

Evidence on the impact of minimum wage laws in an informal sector: Domestic workers in South Africa

What happens when a previously uncovered labor market is regulated? We exploit the introduction of a minimum wage in South Africa and variation in the intensity of this law to identify increases in wages and formal contract coverage, and no significant effects on employment on the intensive or extensive margins for domestic workers. These large, partial responses to the law are somewhat surprising, given the lack of monitoring and enforcement in this informal sector. We interpret these changes as evidence that external sanctions are not necessary for new labor legislation to have a significant impact on informal sectors of developing countries, at least in the short-run.

Investing in Schooling in Chile: The Role of Information about Financial Aid for Higher Education

Recent economic research shows that imperfect information about Mincer returns to education (in developing countries) or about financial aid (in the US) may undermine investments in schooling and exacerbate inequalities in access to education. We extend this literature by presenting the results of an experiment that provided children and a subset of their parents with specific information about financial aid for higher education, and measured the impact on effort in primary school. We developed a DVD information program and randomly assigned a sample of Chilean 8th graders in poor urban schools to information treatment and control groups. Half of the treatment group watched the DVD at school (Student group) and the other half received a copy of the program to watch at home (Family group). Using survey and matched administrative data to measure outcomes three to six months post-intervention, we show that knowledge of financial aid sources improves in treated schools and school-reported absenteeism falls by 14%. These responses appear to be driven by students with higher baseline grades; yet we find no significant effects on 8th Grade scores or 9th Grade enrolment for any students. While parents in the Family treatment group score significantly higher on tests of information related to DVD content, watching the DVD at home is no more effective at changing effort than watching at school, at least for high ability students likely to select in to watching the DVD. Our results suggest that Chile falls somewhere between developing and developed countries: exposure to information about financial aid for post-secondary schooling significantly affects student knowledge and absenteeism, but is insufficient for improving other educational outcomes.finaicial aid, education, Chile, imperfect information, behavior, education investment

When Knowledge Is Not Enough: HIV/AIDS Information and Risky Behavior In Botswana

The spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still fueled by ignorance in many parts of the world. Filling in knowledge gaps, particularly between men and women, is considered key to preventing future infections and to reducing female vulnerabilities to the disease. However, such knowledge is arguably only a necessary condition for targeting these objectives. In this paper, we describe the extent to which HIV/AIDS knowledge is correlated with less risky sexual behavior. We ask: even when there are no substantial knowledge gaps between men and women, do we still observe sex-specific differentials in sexual behavior that would increase vulnerability to infection? We use data from two recent household surveys in Botswana to address this question. We show that even when men and women have very similar types of knowledge, they have different probabilities of reporting safe sex. Our findings are consistent with the existence of non-informational barriers to behavioral change, some of which appear to be sex-specific. The descriptive exercise in this paper suggests that it may be overly optimistic to hope for reductions in risky behavior through the channel of HIV-information provision alone.

Powerful Design Principles and Processes: Lessons from a Case of Ambitious Civics Education Curriculum Planning. A Response to Reinventing the High School Government Course: Rigor, Simulations, and Learning from Text

In Reinventing the High School Government Course, the authors presented the latest iteration of an ambitious AP government course developed over a seven-year design-based implementation research project. Chiefly addressed to curriculum developers and civics teachers, the article elaborates key design principles, provides a description of both the substance and structure of the course, and explains the pedagogical aims and practices of the course. I review this outstanding work by providing a discussion of what I think this research might do for the intended audience and close with a few considerations that extend the authors’ own questions and concerns about the course

When Knowledge is not Enough: HIV/AIDS Information and Risky Behavior in Botswana

The spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still fueled by ignorance in many parts of the world. Filling in knowledge gaps, particularly between men and women, is considered key to preventing future infections and to reducing female vulnerabilities to the disease. However, such knowledge is arguably only a necessary condition for targeting these objectives. In this paper, we describe the extent to which HIV/AIDS knowledge is correlated with less risky sexual behavior. We ask: even when there are no substantial knowledge gaps between men and women, do we still observe sex-specific differentials in sexual behavior that would increase vulnerability to infection? We use data from two recent household surveys in Botswana to address this question. We show that even when men and women have very similar types of knowledge, they have different probabilities of reporting safe sex. Our findings are consistent with the existence of non-informational barriers to behavioral change, some of which appear to be sex-specific. The descriptive exercise in this paper suggests that it may be overly optimistic to hope for reductions in risky behavior through the channel of HIV-information provision alone.

Reflection and Resistance: Challenges of Rationale-based Teacher Education

The author draws on the voices of beginning teachers in a particular teacher education program and his own experiences as a teacher educator in several different settings to account for preservice teacher reflection and resistance to rationale-based social studies teacher education. Twelve categories represent the perspectives of beginning social studies student teachers. Some are directly related to larger explanatory frameworks offered by teacher education research. Others reflect commonplace tensions in the university classroom. These twelve categories of reflection and resistance in rationale-based teacher education may serve as starting points for thinking about more effective approaches to helping beginning teachers answer the powerful question-- what are you teaching for

Using Course Syllabi to Assess Research Expectations of Biology Majors: Implications for Further Development of Information Literacy Skills in the Curriculum

This article describes an analysis of course syllabi from selected courses in the biology curriculum at Iowa State University. The purpose of this research was to learn about the numbers and types of information literacy assignments given to students majoring in biology. Overall, the most common assignment type for biology majors was a lab report or lab exercise. Very few course syllabi mentioned the library as a useful resource for completing assignments. Only a few assignment directions recommended specific indexes such as Biosis Previews or Web of Science. Suggestions for improving the content of course syllabi and additional ideas about the further development of information literacy skills in the biology curriculum are discussed

See a Need, Fill a Need —Reaching Out to the Bioinformatics Research Community at Iowa State University

This article describes my efforts in organizing the National Center for Biotechnology (NCBI) Field Guide workshop in March 2006 and four NCBI mini-courses in April 2007 at Iowa State University. It also includes an overview of academic libraries that are providing bioinformatics support and summarizes library involvement in hosting NCBI courses. A discussion of how hosting the NCBI courses has influenced my collection development, instruction, and liaison activities and suggestions to librarians about how to get involved with bioinformatics is also included