Description:Skills are the scarcest resource in the 21st century. But there is surprisingly little consensus on how they are best acquired. This is the first book to provide an up-to-date analysis of the concept of skill formation within the social sciences and includes contributions of original research from leading scholars in psychology, economics, political science, and sociology. This collection of essays addresses topics ranging from skill learning and measurement, to institutional and policy differences between countries, to skill formation across the life course and socioeconomic groups.