Not all firms are created equal: SMEs and vocational training in the UK, Italy, and Germany

Chiara Benassi, Niccolo Durazzi and Johann Fortwengel

No 20/4, MPIfG Discussion Paper from Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies

Abstract: Why do skill formation systems put SMEs at greater disadvantage in some countries than others vis-à-vis large employers? By comparing vocational education and training (VET) institutions and their differential effect on firms of different sizes across three countries (UK, Italy, and Germany), we show that the design of VET has profound implications for shaping the ability of SMEs to use institutions as resources. In particular, quasi-market institutions in the UK amplify SMEs' disadvantage, while non-market coordinating institutions in Italy and Germany narrow the gap between SMEs and large employers. By unpacking the comparative disadvantage of SMEs, we offer important nuances to the argument that institutions help firms coordinate their business activities in different varieties of capitalism.

Keywords: comparative political economy; firm size; small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); varieties of capitalism; vocational education and training (VET); Berufsbildung; kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU); Spielarten des Kapitalismus; UnternehmensgröØe; Vergleichende Politische Ökonomie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-ent, nep-eur and nep-sbm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:204

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