Governments aim at reducing skill mismatch because of the adverse effects that it can trigger at the individual and firm level as well as at the country level. Skill mismatch has been defined as a persistent phenomenon with long lasting cross-country differences (Mavromaras et al., 2013). This phenomenon could thus be explained by equivalent cross-country differences in national public policies. The purpose of this thesis is to test the impact of public policies on the probability of being skill mismatched across OECD countries. This thesis explores the recent OECD Survey of Adult Skills from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies using an alternative measure of skill mismatch. Data for public policies come from a wide variety of sources. The results show that both policies targeted on firms (‘demand side of skills’) and policies dealing with the available workforce (‘supply side of skills’) can result in a reduction of skill mismatch levels. Regarding the demand side of skills, countries with smooth regulations on the firing of permanent employees, with efficient policies increasing the allocative efficiency and with a strong focus on entrepreneurship seem to experience lower levels of skill mismatch. For the case of the supply side of skills, housing policies efficient at increasing labour mobility together with a higher participation in lifelong learning and higher investments in active labour market programmes and education are expected to be associated with a reduction of skill mismatch.

The focus of this research was to shed light on factors contributing to global international rankings in mathematics released by the 2011 administration of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. This study focused on factors contributing to the global ranking of international scores in mathematics. Although students in the United States performed below students in the other sample countries (Singapore, Japan, and the Republic of Korea), American students scored within one standard deviation of the top performer, the Republic of Korea. The study also revealed that although other countries had their brightest and most advantaged students participate in the assessment, participating students in the United States were disproportionately disadvantaged to the proportion of United States' citizens. Another contributing factor of student success revealed in this study was the size and form of government and financing of the participating countries. While Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and Japan have education systems governed and financed by national governments, the United States education system is primarily governed and financed by 50 state governments.

Nationella och internationella kunskapsmätningar i matematik visar likartade resultat för flickor och pojkar. Trots det visar statistiken att flickor erhåller systematiskt högre slutbetyg. Denna studie undersöker huruvida betyg tjänar som likvärdigt mått på kunskap hos flickor och pojkar i gymnasiets matematikämne. Detta görs dels utifrån en kvantitativ ansats och dels utifrån en enkätstudie. Med utgångspunkt i nationell registerdata (SCB) för slutbetyg och resultat på nationella provet undersöks, medelst fyra olika analysmetoder, könsskillnader med avseende på kurs, skolform och län. Studien visar att flickor generellt erhåller högre slutbetyg än pojkar i relation till resultatet på nationella provet, vilket bekräftar tidigare forskning. Vidare påvisar analysen särskilt stora diskrepanser på betygsnivå C och högre; i matematikkurser på yrkesförberedande program; i senare kurser inom samtliga program; i Västernorrlands, Västmanlands, Gotlands och Kalmar län; liksom i fristående skolor. Korrelationsanalys tydliggör hur nationella provet utgör en mindre del av betygsunderlaget för flickor jämfört med pojkar. Dessutom avslöjar analysen ett omvänt samband mellan könsbetingad relativ prestation på nationella provet och avvikelse i slutbetyget. Enkätstudien undersöker bedömningspraktiken hos matematiklärare. Filtrering på lärarens kön, ålder, program och skolform, har tillämpats. Resultatet tyder på systematiska skillnader i bedömningspraktik mellan olika lärarkategorier, vilket innebär att betygssättningen kan brista i likvärdighet. Skillnader har påvisats mellan, i första hand, lärare på yrkesprogram och naturvetenskapliga program, såväl som mellan lärare i kommunala och fristående skolor. Också lärarens kön och ålder tycks ha viss betydelse. Studien avslutas med en diskussion kring möjliga lösningar. / National and international assessments in mathematics show similar results for girls and boys. Despite this, statistics show that girls receive systematically higher final grades. This study examines whether grades serve as an equivalent measure of knowledge of girls and boys in high school mathematics. This is done partly on the basis of a quantitative approach and partly on the basis of a survey. Based on national register data (Statistics Sweden) for final grades and results of national tests, using four different methods of analysis, gender differences with respect to course, school form and county, are examined. The study shows that girls generally get a higher final grade than boys in relation to their results on the national test, confirming previous research. Furthermore, the analysis shows particularly large discrepancies at grade C and higher; in mathematics courses on vocational programs; in later courses within all programs; in V¨asternorrland, V¨astmanland, Gotland and Kalmar County; as well as in independent schools. Correlation analysis clarifies how the national test constitutes a smaller part of the assessment basis for girls compared to boys. The analysis also reveals an inverse relationship between gender dependent relative performance on the national test and the final grade deviation. The survey examines the assessment practice among mathematics teachers. Filtering on the teacher’s gender, age, program and school form has been applied. The result suggests systematic differences in assessment practice between different teacher categories, implying that grades can break in equality. Differences have been shown between, primarily, teachers in vocational programs and science programs, as well as between teachers in municipal and independent schools. Also the teacher’s gender and age seems to be of some importance. The study concludes with a discussion about possible solutions.