This article reviews the role of education in promoting economic growth, with a particular focus on the role of educational quality. It concludes that there is strong evidence that the cognitive skills of the population - rather than mere school attainment - are powerfully related to long-run...

An emerging economic literature over the past decade has made use of international tests of educational achievement to analyze the determinants and impacts of cognitive skills. The cross-country comparative approach provides a number of unique advantages over national studies: It can exploit...

Regional policy accounts for approximately 35% of the EU budget (European Commission 2005). This share is even likely to increase further in the next few years, following the accession of twelve Member States in 2004 and 2007. The regional policy budget of the EU is mainly spent on subsidies for...