Barriers to skill acquisition: Evidence from English training in India

Tarun Jain, Pushkar Maitra and Subha Mani

World Development, 2019, vol. 114, issue C, 314-325

Abstract: Skill development is viewed as an escape from the low education – high unemployment trap in developing countries. Despite investments in skill development programs, participation and completion rates in many programs remain low. We investigate factors that prevent individuals from acquiring spoken English, a skill with potentially high returns in the labour market. Using data from a field experiment in India, we find that offering subsidies increases the probability of participating in a spoken English training program. Simultaneously, distance to the training center, pre-existing knowledge of spoken English, and past enrolment in a similar course act as significant barriers to take-up. These findings suggest that multidimensional policy solutions are required to overcome barriers to skill development in developing countries.

Keywords: Skill development; Vocational training; Spoken English; Field experiment; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I25 J24 J44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: Barriers to Skill Acquisition: Evidence from English Training in India (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:114:y:2019:i:c:p:314-325

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.10.011

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