Here’s a summary of the latest Economics news to have reached the inbox of the Intute: Economics editors, this week:
New research from the Manpower Human Resources Lab at the LSE examines the economic value of educational qualifications in the UK.
The returns to a university degree in Britain are still high by international standards, suggesting that there is, as yet, no oversupply of graduates. At the same time, some of the new vocational qualifications have very low or minimal economic value. And basic skills continue to have very high value in the labour market, indicating that the supply of skills continues to be lower than demand.
Find out more about the work of the Lab in this paper Human resources, the labour market and economic performance written by Romesh Vaitilingam.
The National Institute for Economic and Social Research is hosting a conference on Tackling Age Discrimination in Britain, on 29th September.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations come into effect on 1 October 2006. For the first time this will outlaw age discrimination in employment (whether against older or younger people). What difference will this make to current employment practices? Age discrimination legislation will not apply to access to goods and services, and this might impact on employment. Is this likely to change, and if so, what will the implications be?
Further research papers from NIESR are available from their website.
The Library of Economics and Liberty features an interview with Milton Friedman recorded just before his 94th birthday.
They discuss the role of the Federal Reserve from the Great Depression through today and what the future might hold for inflation. Turning to the principles and policy issues and Capitalism and Freedom, they discuss the success (and failure) of the policy proposals that Friedman advocated in the book. The wide-ranging conversation looks at everything from sugar quotas to the social responsibility of business. Along the way, Friedman reminisces about his dual career as professional economist and public intellectual.
A podcast of the interview is also available covering Money and Capitalism and Freedom
If your research centre has any news that you think would like to mention on this blog, then please do get in touch.
