Letter from the special issue co-editors

New empirical results show the importance of both minimal and high-level skills, the complementarity of skills and the quality of economic institutions, and the robustness of the relationship between skills and growth. International comparisons incorporating expanded data on cognitive skills reveal much larger skill deficits in developing countries than generally derived from just school enrolment and attainment. The magnitude of change needed makes it clear that closing the economic gap with industrial countries will require major structural changes in schooling institutions. (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2007, p. 1)  Copyright © 2011 Association for Tertiary Education Management and the L H Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management.