Thinking for a Living: Education and the Wealth of Nations

A highly educated and trained workforce is the key to economic growth and full employment, assert the authors of this boldly visionary book, an important contribution to the debate over national priorities and the U.S.'s economic competitiveness. They urge the nation's employers to heed the lessons learned by Germany, Japan, Sweden and Singapore--countries that have linked education and economic policy into a single integrated strategy. In those countries, many ``front-line'' workers--those in non-managerial and nontechnical positions--are granted quasi-managerial responsibilities and are rewarded for improving product design, manufacturing quality and overall productivity. In their ``coherent national strategy for human resources development,'' Marshall and Tucker advocate employers' commitment to the continued education of front-line workers, massive investment in teacher salaries, adoption of more stringent educational standards, legalization of tax credits for families with children, an increase in the minimum wage and creation of a national health insurance program modeled on Canada's. Marshall, an economist, was Secretary of Labor under Jimmy Carter; Tucker is president of the National Center on Education and the Economy in Washington, D.C., and Rochester, N.Y. (Sept.)