In times of growing economic inequality, improving equity in education becomes more urgent. While some countries and economies that participate in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have managed to build education systems where socio-economic status makes less of a difference to students' learning and well-being, every country can do more. Equity in Education: Breaking Down Barriers to Social Mobility shows that high performance and more positive attitudes towards schooling among disadvantaged 15-year-old students are strong predictors of success in higher education and work later on. The report examines how equity in education has evolved over several cycles of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It identifies the policies and practices that can help disadvantaged students succeed academically and feel more engaged at school. Using longitudinal data from five countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, and the United States), the report also describes the links between a student's performance near the end of compulsory education and upward social mobility - i.e. attaining a higher level of education or working in a higher-status job than one's parents.

Large regional disparities in labor market indicators exist in Central Europe and the Baltic region. Such disparities appear to be persistent over time indicating, in part, a lack of flexibility in the prevailing adjustment mechanisms. Internal labor mobility is often seen as an important instrument to reduce adjustment costs when other mechanisms fail. Drawing from a variety of data sources and utilizing a common empirical framework and estimation strategy, this study identifies patterns and statistical profiles of geographical mobility. It finds internal migration to be generalily low and highly concentrated among better-educated, young, and single workers. This suggests that migration is more likely to reinforce existing inequalities than to act as an equalizing phenomenon. By way of contrast, commuting flows have grown over time and are more responsive to regional economic differentials. The findings suggest the need for appropriate and country-tailored policy measures designed to increase the responsiveness of labor flows to market conditions.

Barrier islands represent a complex coastal system that includes a number of different sedimentary depositional environments; nearshore zone, beach, dunes, washover fans, marshes, tidal flats, estuaries, lagoons, and tidal inlets. The morphodynamics of these fragile coastal systems provide a further complication to this coastal type. Although barrier islands comprise only 15% of the world's coastline, they have received a far greater proportion of attention from the scientific and engineering community, and more recently, from coastal managers and environmentalists. Modern barrier islands are arguably the most expensive and most vulnerable of all coastal environments. Pressure from developers for residential, industrial, and recreational development has caused most of our barriers to become significantly impacted by human activity, especially over the past few decades. These pres sures have led to extensive preservation of natural barriers through efforts from all levels of government and also by private organizations. Governments have also formed coastal management programs that help to control any future de velopment with the intent being to keep human activity compatible with barrier island morphodynamics. In order to devise appropriate coastal zone management programs, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the morpho dynamics of barrier island systems. This volume provides comprehensive details on barrier island morphology, sediment distribution, and the process-response mechanisms that cause changes to both. These are the important aspects of barrier systems that can provide important input into the development and implementation of coastal management programs.