1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Chile: Better skills for inclusive growth

Improving education and skills is the linchpin to reduce income inequality and boost productivity growth. This paper argues that to improve, and make better use of, the skills of the labour force, Chile could gain a lot from a comprehensive and consistent Skills Strategy along three pillars: developing, activating and using skills effectively. Chile has made tremendous progress over the last decades attracting more students to the education system. Yet, educational outcomes remain below OECD standards, and are strongly linked to students’ socio-economic status. Improving the quality and equity of education would help achieve stronger productivity growth and make Chile a more inclusive country. Therefore, Chile should set the goal of attaining universal skills by 2030. Reaching this goal requires investing more in early childhood education, making schools more inclusive and reshaping teacher careers. Chile also needs to improve access to quality tertiary education for students from medium and low socio-economic backgrounds. Finally, in terms of activating and using skills effectively, a key goal should be to reduce skill mismatch, which contributes to low productivity growth. This requires more flexible labour markets, investing more in vocational education and training, and promoting the participation of more women in the fields of engineering and computer science. This working paper relates to the 2015 OECD Economic Survey of Chile (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/ economic-survey-chile.htm).

English

Keywords: inequality, education, adult skills, employment, PISA
JEL: J61: Labor and Demographic Economics / Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers / Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers; I21: Health, Education, and Welfare / Education and Research Institutions / Analysis of Education; J24: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity; J21: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure; I28: Health, Education, and Welfare / Education and Research Institutions / Education: Government Policy; J08: Labor and Demographic Economics / General / Labor Economics Policies
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