Literacy Skills and Schooling from the International Adult Literacy Survey

Abstract

In the information age, literacy skills are becoming increasingly important in the knowledge economy. The use of new technologies in everyday life, changing demands in the labor market, and participation in the globalization process all require higher literacy skills. Although literacy skills are related factors such as demographic characteristics, ethnicity, and language background, schooling has been perceived as a key determinant of literacy skills. This paper reviews important texts in the area of literacy skills and schooling. In addition, relying on the IALS data, this paper identifies relationships between schooling and literacy skills in 20 countries. The article concludes with a discussion of policy implications for improving literacy skills and future research for nonlinear relationships between schooling and literacy skills and endogenous effects of schooling on literacy skills.