Technological change and returns to training

Roman Klauser and Marcus Tamm

International Journal of Manpower, 2026, vol. 47, issue 10, 18-34

Abstract: PurposeTechnological progress is rapidly changing the labor market. We investigate how the interaction between new technologies and on the job training is related to wages and job mobility. Understanding this relationship is important, as individuals' willingness to engage in training largely depends on the expected returns to training.Design/methodology/approachWe employ German individual-level panel data (N = 44,791) on training participation and workplace adoption of new technologies. We estimate fixed effects models that account for unobserved characteristics while incorporating a large set of socio-demographic controls. Additionally, we conduct robustness tests that account for individual-specific time trends.FindingsThe results indicate that training participation is associated with higher wages and greater job stability overall. However, no clear association is found between new technology adoption and wages or job mobility. In addition, individuals who experience both new technology adoption and training participation do not appear to differ in wages or job stability from those who experience neither.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on the returns to training by analyzing the heterogeneity with respect to the parallel adoption of new technology. Unlike most previous research, which focuses on industry- or occupation-level measures of technology adoption, we utilize individual-level measures. Additionally, we are the first to explore wage and job mobility outcomes rather than productivity or employment effects.

Keywords: Training; New technology; Job mobility; Returns to education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijmpps:ijm-02-2025-0091

DOI: 10.1108/IJM-02-2025-0091

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