Table of Contents

1. Acronyms
2. Acknowledgements
3. 1. Introduction
4. 2. Data
5. 3. The distribution of literacy
6. 4. The generation of literacy skills
   1. 4.1 Schooling and background effects
   2. 4.2 Age and generational effects
   3. 4.3 Post-school, work related literacy acquisition
7. 5. The impact of literacy on earnings
   1. 5.1 A simple theoretical framework
   2. 5.2 Estimation results
8. 6. Conclusion
9. References
10. Appendix A : Education definitions in the IALS94, IALSS03, and LFS
11. Appendix B : First stage results for years of schooling
12. Endnotes