Previous research shows that individuals’ educational level is associated with skill mismatch, but knowledge about the influence of horizontal dimensions of education and education’s variation throughout the career is limited. This study analyses the link between education and skill mismatch by cons…
Firms screen graduates using grade thresholds, which can turn into students' targeted learning outcomes or reference points in the model of study effort choice. Variability in the usage of grade thresholds implies students' uncertainty about the value of grades. Work experience from internships can …
We examine the plausibility of using prejudice-based discrimination to explain the wage differences among young men and women in eleven European countries. Utilizing a sample of over 20,000 individuals and estimating a series of country-specific regression models that adjust for ability and selectio…
In England, half of all apprentices are now of adult age. Most of them—and many of younger age, too—worked with their training firm for some time before starting their apprenticeship. In this article, we estimate the benefit of apprenticeship completion making the distinction between groups of newly…
In this paper, we estimate the causal effects of the 2003 reforms to the Italian apprenticeship contract that increased its legal length, allowed on-the-job training and introduced a minimum floor to apprentices' wages. Using administrative data, we implement a covariate balancing propensity score a…
The new training literature views regulated labour markets as critical for firms' willingness to participate in apprenticeship training. These regulations allow training firms to retain their apprenticeship graduates at the end of the training period and recoup training costs. Yet, in spite of an on…
Using long-running data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2012), we investigate the impact of paternal unemployment on child labour market and education outcomes. We first describe correlation patterns and then use sibling fixed effects and the Gottschalk (1996) method to identify the causa…
This article analyses how the costs of hiring skilled workers from the external labour market affect a firm's supply of training. Using administrative survey data with detailed information on hiring and training costs for Swiss firms, we find evidence for substantial and increasing marginal hiring c…
Do apprenticeships convey mainly general or also firm- and occupation-specific human capital? Specific human capital may allow for specialization gains, but may also lead to allocative inefficiency due to mobility barriers. We analyse the case of Switzerland, which combines a comprehensive, high-qua…
Following the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT), firms are likely to face increasing skill requirements. They may react either by training or hiring the new skills, or by a combination of both. We first show that ICT are indeed skill biased and we then assess the relative …
The way parents take influence on the education of their children is a crucial aspect of intergenerational mobility. Unlike in the UK or in the US, in Germany an important decision about which educational track to follow is made at a relatively early stage: after primary school, at the age of ten. I…
We investigate the sources of supply of several core skills, using an innovative approach to skills measurement that involves adapting a job analysis methodology and applying it in a survey context. We then estimate the determinants of skills supply using a production function model. The main findin…
