Education, Skills, and Technical Change : Implications for Future US GDP Growth

Over the past few decades, US business and industry have been transformed by the advances and redundancies produced by the knowledge economy. The workplace has changed, and much of the work differs from that performed by previous generations. Can human capital accumulation in the United States keep pace with the evolving demands placed on it, and how can the workforce of tomorrow acquire the skills and competencies that are most in demand?

Education, Skills, and Technical Change explores various facets of these questions and provides an overview of educational attainment in the United States and the channels through which labor force skills and education affect GDP growth. Contributors to this volume focus on a range of educational and training institutions and bring new data to bear on how we understand the role of college and vocational education and the size and nature of the skills gap. This work links a range of research areas—such as growth accounting, skill development, higher education, and immigration—and also examines how well students are being prepared for the current and future world of work.

Charles R. Hulten is professor of economics emeritus at the University of Maryland, the former chair of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, and a research associate of the NBER.

Valerie A. Ramey is professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego, and a research associate of the NBER.