Hard Evidence on Soft Skills: The GED and the Problem of Soft Skills in America

The 2010 James A. Thomas Lecture
November 1, 2010
James Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago speaks on the topic of “Hard Evidence on Soft Skills: The GED and the Problem of Soft Skills in America.” 
Professor Heckman’s work has been devoted to the development of a scientific basis for economic policy evaluation, and his research has given policymakers important new insights into areas such as education, job training, the importance of accounting for general equilibrium in the analysis of labor markets, anti-discrimination law, and civil rights.  
In 2000, he won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. He directs the Economics Research Center and the Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School for Public Policy. In addition, he is the Professor of Science and Society in University College Dublin and a Senior Research Fellow at the American Bar Foundation.
Professor Heckman is author of hundreds of articles and several books, including, most recently, Global Perspectives on the Rule of Law and the forthcoming Hard Evidence on Soft Skills: The GED and the Problem of Soft Skills in America.