Religion in Dutch society 2005. Documentation of a national survey on religious and secular attitudes and behaviour in 2005

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Educational mismatches and skills: New empirical tests of old hypotheses

In this paper, we empirically explore how the often reported relationship between overeducation and wages can best be understood. Exploiting the newly published Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data (OECD 2013), we are able to achieve a better estimation of the classical ORU-model (Duncan and Hoffman, 1981), by controlling for heterogeneity of observable skills. Our findings suggest that 1) a considerable part of the effect of educational mismatches can be attributed to skills heterogeneity, and 2) that the extent to which skills explain educational mismatches varies by institutional contexts. These observations suggest that skills matter for explaining wage effects of education and educational mismatches, but the extent to which this is the case also depends on institutional contexts

Educational mismatches and skills: New empirical tests of old hypotheses

In this paper, we empirically explore how the often reported relationship between overeducation and wages can best be understood. Exploiting the newly published Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data (OECD 2013), we are able to achieve a better estimation of the classical ORU-model (Duncan and Hoffman, 1981), by controlling for heterogeneity of observable skills. Our findings suggest that 1) a considerable part of the effect of educational mismatches can be attributed to skills heterogeneity, and 2) that the extent to which skills explain educational mismatches varies by institutional contexts. These observations suggest that skills matter for explaining wage effects of education and educational mismatches, but the extent to which this is the case also depends on institutional contexts

Skill mismatch and skill use in developed countries: Evidence from the PIAAC study

In this paper we develop and test a new set of measures of skill mismatches, based on data on skill levels and skill use in the domains of literacy and numeracy from the PIAAC project. The measures we develop represent the extent of skill use relative to one’s own skill level. We test the measures by examining their relation to a number of labour market outcomes. We subsequently examine how mismatches are distributed across and within a large number of countries, and use our results to reflect on possible causes and consequences of mismatches. We find that, in general, higher skill utilization is always beneficial in terms of productivity and job satisfaction, and that "overutilization" of skills therefore points more towards a fuller use of the available human capital, rather than to a serious skill shortage. We find an asymmetry in returns between literacy and numeracy skills: although numeracy skill level appears to pay higher dividends than literacy skill level, shifts in skill utilization within skill levels have greater consequences for literacy than for numeracy. The distribution of mismatches across and within countries is broadly consistent with the expectation that skills will be used more fully under competitive market conditions with few institutional or organizational barriers. Finally, skill mismatches are only quite weakly related to educational mismatches, reflecting the heterogeneity in skill supply and demand that cross-cuts the dividing lines set by formally defined qualification levels and job titles

Schoolverlaters tussen onderwijs en arbeidsmarkt 2012

Wat vinden gediplomeerde schoolverlaters van hun opleiding en wat gaan ze na hun opleiding doen? Hoe is de aansluiting met het vervolgonderwijs? En als ze naar de arbeidsmarkt gaan, hoe snel krijgen ze dan werk? En sluit dat werk dan ook aan op de gevolgde opleiding? Wat zijn de consequenties van de recente economische crisis

Random variables with completely independent subcollections

AbstractWe investigate the algebra and geometry of the independence conditions on discrete random variables in which we consider a collection of random variables and study the condition of independence of some subcollections. We interpret independence conditions as an ideal of algebraic relations. After a change of variables, this ideal is generated by generalized 2×2 minors of multi-way tables and linear forms. In particular, let Δ be a simplicial complex on some random variables and A be the table corresponding to the product of those random variables. If A is Δ-independent table then A can be written as the entrywise sum AI+A0 where AI is a completely independent table and A0 is identically 0 in its Δ-margins.We compute the isolated components of the original ideal, showing that there is only one component that could correspond to probability distributions, and relate the algebra and geometry of the main component to that of the Segre embedding. If Δ has fewer than three facets, we are able to compute generators for the main component, show that it is Cohen–Macaulay, and give a full primary decomposition of the original ideal

Inhibition of PFKFB3 Hampers the Progression of Atherosclerosis and Promotes Plaque Stability

Aims: 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase (PFKFB)3-mediated glycolysis is pivotal in driving macrophage- and endothelial cell activation and thereby inflammation. Once activated, these cells play a crucial role in the progression of atherosclerosis. Here, we analyzed the expression of PFKFB3 in human atherosclerotic lesions and investigated the therapeutic potential of pharmacological inhibition of PFKFB3 in experimental atherosclerosis by using the glycolytic inhibitor PFK158. Methods and Results: PFKFB3 expression was higher in vulnerable human atheromatous carotid plaques when compared to stable fibrous plaques and predominantly expressed in plaque macrophages and endothelial cells. Analysis of advanced plaques of human coronary arteries revealed a positive correlation of PFKFB3 expression with necrotic core area. To further investigate the role of PFKFB3 in atherosclerotic disease progression, we treated 6–8 weeks old male Ldlr–/– mice. These mice were fed a high cholesterol diet for 13 weeks, of which they were treated for 5 weeks with the glycolytic inhibitor PFK158 to block PFKFB3 activity. The incidence of fibrous cap atheroma (advanced plaques) was reduced in PFK158-treated mice. Plaque phenotype altered markedly as both necrotic core area and intraplaque apoptosis decreased. This coincided with thickening of the fibrous cap and increased plaque stability after PFK158 treatment. Concomitantly, we observed a decrease in glycolysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared to the untreated group, which alludes that changes in the intracellular metabolism of monocyte and macrophages is advantageous for plaque stabilization. Conclusion: High PFKFB3 expression is associated with vulnerable atheromatous human carotid and coronary plaques. In mice, high PFKFB3 expression is also associated with a vulnerable plaque phenotype, whereas inhibition of PFKFB3 activity leads to plaque stabilization. This data implies that inhibition of inducible glycolysis may reduce inflammation, which has the ability to subsequently attenuate atherogenesis

Reduced CETP glycosylation and activity in patients with homozygous B4GALT1 mutations

The importance of protein glycosylation in regulating lipid metabolism is becoming increasingly apparent. We set out to further investigate this by studying the effects of defective glycosylation on plasma lipids in patients with B4GALT1-CDG, caused by a mutation in B4GALT1 with defective N-linked glycosylation. We studied plasma lipids, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) glyco-isoforms with isoelectric focusing followed by a western blot and CETP activity in three known B4GALT1-CDG patients and compared them with 11 age- and gender-matched, healthy controls. B4GALT1-CDG patients have significantly lowered non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and total cholesterol to HDL-c ratio compared with controls and larger HDL particles. Plasma CETP was hypoglycosylated and less active in B4GALT1-CDG patients compared to matched controls. Our study provides insight into the role of protein glycosylation in human lipoprotein homeostasis. The hypogalactosylated, hypo-active CETP found in patients with B4GALT1-CDG indicates a role of protein galactosylation in regulating plasma HDL and LDL. Patients with B4GALT1-CDG have large HDL particles probably due to hypogalactosylated, hypo-active CETP