Evaluation Forum
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Evaluation Forum Economic Competition, Restructuring and Worker Dislocation U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Issue 11, Summer 1995 Evaluation Forum Economic Competition, Restructuring and Worker Dislocation Issue 11, Summer 1995 U.S. Department of Labor Robert B. Reich, Secretary Employment and Training Administration Tim Barnicle, Assistant Secretary Office of Policy and Research Gerard F. Fiala, Administrator A review journal for employment and training professionals focusing on policy analysis and evaluation research in occupational training, education, work and welfare, and economic development. Evaluation Forum n Issue 11 n Summer 1995 i ii Evaluation Forum n Issue 11 n Summer 1995 Table of Contents Features Economic Change and Displacement 2 Presidential Perspectives on Economic Change and Restructuring: An Interpretation President Clintons view of economic change and related issues, based on an anthology of his speeches. 7 Understanding and Adjusting to Economic Change A review of The Urban Institutes Rethinking Employment Policy. 11 A Challenge in Restructuring: Efficiency Vs. Equity A review of two informative books on economic and employment policy in the 1990s published by The Brookings Institution. 15 Understanding the Context of Dislocation A brief overview of four major books on technological change, economic restructuring and employment. 16 Worker Dislocation: A Review Article A guest review of three W.E. Upjohn Institute books on worker displacement, by labor economist Ernst W. Stromsdorfer. National Studies of Dislocated Worker Programs 21 Evaluating Dislocated Worker Programs: U.S. Department of Labor Studies in the 1990s A summary and commentary on U.S. Department of Labor process and net impact studies of programs designed to assist dislocated workers. 29 Other National-Level Studies in the 1980s and Early 1990s Relevant to Dislocation A review of analyses and evaluations of efforts to retrain and reemploy dislocated workers, conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Congressional Budget Office, and other sources. 33 Self-Employment As An Employment Strategy for Dislocated Workers A discussion of self-employment programs in the U.S. and Europe, and a review of evaluations of the major U.S. self-employment projects. Defense Conversion and Dislocation 37 Defense Downsizing: Some Implications Contextual information about defense conversion, and a brief review of several Office of Technology Assessment reports on conversion issues. 40 Studying Defense Conversion in Affected Communities A summary and analysis of a major study of defense adjustment and conversion, sponsored jointly by the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Defense. 43 Programs to Ease the Adjustment to Defense Cutbacks An overview and discussion of the plethora of assistance programs for workers and communities impacted by defense downsizing. Evaluation Forum n Issue 11 n Summer 1995 iii 46 Findings from the Defense Conversion Adjustment Demonstration Project A guest review of the U.S. Department of Labors evaluation of the demonstration, by Mary G. Visher, director of the evaluation, and Deborah Kogan, its co-principal investigator. 53 A Commentary by Secretary of Labor, Robert B. Reich Commentary A commentary on the status of the American economy, on employment and dislocation, and on income inequality, with implications for policy. 57 An Interview With Salvatore Zecchini Interviews An interview with internationally-respected economist, Salvatore Zecchini, Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, on economic restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe and its policy implications. 62 An Interview With John Dryer of The Boeing Company, and Gary Jackson of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers An interview with the prime movers in developing a remarkably successful corporation-based partnership model for assisting dislocated workers, The Boeing Reemployment Program. Evaluation Issues At the International Level Economic Reform in the European Union and Activities 68 The OECDs Employment Study A review of OECDs Job Study, its implications for employment policy, and its policy recommendations. 72 The Persistence of Unemployment in the Post-Industrial Era An overview of two analyses by OECD economists on the reasons for long- term unemployment in the EU. 76 Labor Issues in European Consolidation A review of a Brookings Institution book by three labor economists on the potential effects of EU consolidation on labor forces and labor markets. 77 Political Economy of Borrowing A review and analysis of a provocative book about the transnational borrowing of employment and training ideas between the U.S. and Great Britain, by a Brookings Institution economist and a British political scientist now at the Rand Corporation. iv Evaluation Forum n Issue 11 n Summer 1995 Economic Reform in the Former Soviet Union 83 A Selective Overview of Soviet Reform Policies A context for understanding current economic restructuring in Russia, a review of Edward Hewitts classic, Reforming the Soviet Economy. 88 Gorbachevs Perestroika An analysis of Gorbachevs reform ideas. 90 The U.S.S.R. in Transition An overview of a fascinating book published by the OECD, Structural Change in Central and Eastern Europe. At the National Level 94 Some Thinking About Employment and Training at the National Level A selected history of human service coordination/integration efforts over the past few decades. 97 Measuring Performance in Programs and Coordinated Systems A review of two informative monographs by economists at the University of Baltimore on performance standards, and by the Office of Technology Assessment on the use of UI wage records in evaluation. 103 More About Performance Management A review of several useful reports on accountability produced by the Council of Governors Policy Advisors and the National Institute for Literacy. 105 Using Performance Standards in Establishing Workforce System Accountability Review of economist Burt Barnows excellent analysis of the pros and cons of using performance standards, in Evaluating Welfare and Training Programs edited by Charles Manski and Irwin Garfinkel. 109 Performance Management Systems: Evaluation Principles and Standards A summary of key elements of the American Evaluation Associations new standards for evaluation practice, in James Sanders The Program Evaluation Standards published by Sage. At the State and Local Level 115 A Brief, Selected History of Coordination Efforts A discussion of state and local efforts to coordinate their employment and training programs in the 1970s through 1990s. 118 Establishing Comprehensive Workforce Development Systems: State- Level Efforts in the 1990s 120 Contemporary Coordination Efforts: The Core Data Elements Project An overview of the joint efforts of the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services and Agriculture to develop a core set of variables, operational definitions, and quantitative measures cutting across multiple employment and training programs. Evaluation Forum n Issue 11 n Summer 1995 v 123 Comprehensive State Workforce Development Systems A summary of ideas in Northern Illinois Universitys Building State Workforce Development Systems Based on Policy Coordination and Quality Assurance, the major analytic resource for NGAs Performance Management Project. 127 The National Governors Associations Performance Management Project An in-depth summary and perspective on the NGA project. 142 References on Economic Change, Restructuring and Working Dislocation Resources Books, articles and reports on the above issues, and relevant international references. 153 Federal Research A selected update on employment and training-related research in the federal agencies. A Memorial to Sar Levitan 156 vi Evaluation Forum n Issue 11 n Summer 1995 Features Editorial Introduction n The changed international trade re- nesses operate in the global economic alities. marketplace. The terms economic efficiency, revi- n The end of the Cold War. Illustrations talization, restructuring and reform have now become well accepted within n The development of advanced high- Specific examples of such changes the postindustrial vocabulary in fact, techology products and markets. are everywhere apparent. We have warmly embraced. We freely insert seen unprecedented partnerships es- n The new alliances between devel- these concepts into our narrative piec- tablished among some of the cable es as if they had been commonplace oped and developing countries. television industrys largest companies, through the centuries and there is an Distinctions which will give customers a new range international consensus about their of telecommunications products and meaning. But do they have that consis- In understanding what is meant by options. These partnerships will not tent a history and is there agreement restructuring we need, of course, to only affect wireless communications but on how they are defined? The easiest distinguish between cyclical and non- also one-stop shopping for many ser- answer is No. cyclical causes for economic reorgani- vices. zation. Reduced domestic demand for With many international economists, certain products, trade deficits, and the The rise of Hewlett-Packard in the economic reform has been summarily shrinkage of market share in interna- computer printer market has been a replaced by economic restructuring, tional