Table Of Content«
Literacy in the
Information Age
FINAL REPORT OF
THE INTERNATIONAL
ADULT LITERACY SURVEY
Statistics Statistique
Canada Canada
OECD, 2000.
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Final Report of the International
Adult Literacy Survey
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
STATISTICS CANADA
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on
30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote
policies designed:
– to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member
countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;
– to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic
development; and
– to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with
international obligations.
The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subsequently
through accession at the dates indicated thereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia
(7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December
1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996) and the Republic of Korea (12th December
1996). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the
OECD Convention).
STATISTICS CANADA
Statistics Canada, Canada’s central statistical agency, has the mandate to “collect, compile, analyse, and
publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and general activities
and condition of the people of Canada.” The organization, a federal government agency, is headed by the Chief
Statistician of Canada and reports to Parliament through the Minister of Industry Canada.
Statistics Canada provides information to governments at every level and is the source of statistical information
for business, labour, academic and social institutions, professional associations, the international statistical
community, and the general public. This information is produced at the national and provincial levels and, in some
cases, for major population centres and other sub-provincial or “small” areas.
The Agency fosters relations not only within Canada but also throughout the world, by participating in a
number of international meetings and professional exchanges. Statistics Canada was responsible for managing
the design and implementation of the International Adult Literacy Survey in co-operation with the Educational
Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, and national survey teams.
Publié en français sous le titre :
La littératie à l’ère de l’information
THE OPINIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS REPORT ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS.
Published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
and the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.
© Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, and the Minister of Industry, Canada, 2000.
Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this material should be made to:
Head of Publications Service,
OECD, 2 rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.
Foreword
As we move into the information age, policy makers in all countries are
increasingly concerned about the role knowledge and skills play in enhancing
productivity growth and innovation and in improving social cohesion. The data
presented in this publication, drawn from 20 countries over three cycles of data
collection for the International Adult Literacy Survey, provide the world’s first reliable
and comparable estimates of the levels and distributions of literacy skills in the adult
population.
The study offers an understanding of the nature and magnitude of literacy
issues faced by countries and explores new insights into the factors that influence
the development of adult skills in various settings – at home, at work and across
countries. The 20 countries represented account for over 50 per cent of the world’s
entire gross domestic product. As such, the literacy data can contribute importantly
to an understanding of the demand and supply of skills in the global, knowledge-
based economy.
The results confirm the importance of skills for the effective functioning of
labour markets and for the economic success and social advancement of both
individuals and societies. They offer policy makers a useful tool for policy analysis
and for crafting policies and programmes that can contribute to economic and social
progress.
The survey was made possible thanks to a unique collaboration involving
international organisations, national governments and their statistical offices,
educational assessment and research institutions, and experts drawn from many
countries. Such co-operation is remarkable and serves as a model for future efforts
to improve the availability of official and comparable statistics in key policy domains.
The report is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General
of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Minister of
Industry of the Government of Canada and Statistics Canada.
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Table of Contents
Introduction ix
Highlights and Note to Readers xiii
Chapter 1 Skills for the Twenty-first Century 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Structural Changes in the Knowledge Economy 1
1.3 Impact on the Demand for Skills 8
1.4 Conclusion 11
References 12
Chapter 2 Population Distributions of Adult Literacy 13
2.1 Introduction 13
2.2 Patterns of Adult Literacy Skills 13
2.3 Literacy Skills and Education 22
2.4 Conclusion 25
References 25
Chapter 3 How Literacy is Developed and Sustained 27
3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Home Background and Literacy Outcomes 27
3.3 Literacy and Education by Age 33
3.4 Literacy and Work 34
3.5 Literacy and Formal Adult Education 36
3.6 Literacy, Culture and Civic Skills 49
3.7 Self-assessed Literacy Skills 52
3.8 Factors Explaining Literacy Proficiency 54
3.9 Conclusion 58
References 60
Chapter 4 Outcomes and Benefits of Literacy 61
4.1 Introduction 61
4.2 Literacy and the Labour Force 62
4.3 Education, Literacy and Experience 70
4.4 Windows into the Socio-economic
Benefits of Literacy 77
4.5 Conclusion 83
References 85
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Literacy in the Information Age
Chapter 5 Future Developments 87
5.1 Introduction 87
5.2 Methodological Advances 87
5.3 Main Findings 89
5.4 Issues for Further Analysis 90
References 91
Annex A Definitions of Literacy Performance on Three Scales 93
Annex B Survey Methodology and Data Quality 107
Annex C Note on International Comparability of IALS Data 123
Annex D Data Values for the Figures 131
Annex E Source Database for the International Adult
Literacy Survey 179
Annex F Principal Participants in the Project 183
List of Figures and Tables
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 OECD manufacturing trade by technology intensity 2
Figure 1.2 Knowledge-based industries and services 4
Table 1.3 Access to the information society 5
Figure 1.4 Employment trends by industry, total OECD 6
Table 1.5 Flexible management practices 7
Figure 1.6 Upskilling in total employment growth 9
Figure 1.7 Upskilling in manufacturing and services employment growth 10
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 Distribution of literacy scores 14
Figure 2.2 Comparative distribution of literacy levels 17
Figure 2.3 Multiple comparisons of literacy proficiency 19
Figure 2.4 Educational attainment and literacy proficiency 22
Figure 2.5 Document literacy levels among low educated adults 24
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Educational attainment and literacy proficiency of young adults 28
Figure 3.2 Socio-economic gradients for document literacy scores,
population aged 16-25 31
Figure 3.3 Socio-economic gradients for document literacy scores,
population aged 26-65 32
Figure 3.4 Age and literacy proficiency 34
Figure 3.5 Age and literacy controlling for education 35
Figure 3.6 Labour force participation and literacy proficiency 37
Figure 3.7 Unemployment and literacy 38
Figure 3.8 Employment disadvantage of low-skilled adults 39
Figure 3.9 Reading at work 40
Figure 3.10 Writing at work 41
Figure 3.11 Hours of continuing education and training per adult 42
Figure 3.12 Literacy and adult education participation 43
Figure 3.13 Likelihood of participation by occupation 44
Figure 3.14 Sources of financial support for adult education and training 46
Figure 3.15 Likelihood of participation by literacy engagement at work 47
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Figure 3.16 Reading books and watching television 48
Figure 3.17 Participation in community activities 50
Figure 3.18 Native-born versus foreign-born (second language) population and literacy 52
Figure 3.19 Self-assessment of reading skills 53
Figure 3.20 Handicaps imposed by low reading skills 54
Figure 3.21 Variance explained in literacy proficiency 55
Table 3.22 Major determinants of literacy proficiency 57
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Literacy levels by socio-occupational categories 62
Figure 4.2 Labour volume by document literacy 63
Figure 4.3 Probability of unemployment and literacy proficiency 65
Figure 4.4 Literacy and short- and long-term unemployment 67
Figure 4.5 Employment in the knowledge economy and literacy proficiency 67
Figure 4.6 Literacy and occupational categories 68
Figure 4.7 Probability of being in occupational category by increasing literacy scores 71
Figure 4.8 Probability of being white-collar high-skilled by education levels and literacy skills 73
Figure 4.9 Adult literacy and earnings quintiles 75
Figure 4.10 Amount of variance explained in earnings 76
Figure 4.11 Earnings, education and literacy 78
Figure 4.12 GDP per capita and literacy 80
Figure 4.13 Economic inequality and literacy inequality 81
Figure 4.14 Life expectancy at birth and literacy proficiency 82
Figure 4.15 Women in parliament and literacy proficiency 83
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 World map showing the country populations covered by the International
Adult Literacy Survey 88
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