 Horizontal mismatch and vocational educationJürg Schweri, Annina Eymann and Manuel Aepli Applied Economics, 2020, vol. 52, issue 32, 3464-3478 Abstract: Recent literature suggests that vocational education and training (VET) provides individuals with smoother transitions into the labour market but lower wages over the lifecycle, compared to general education. A possible mechanism explaining lower wages is horizontal mismatch, defined as a mismatch between the type of qualifications acquired by individuals and those required for their current job. Some studies have found higher mismatch wage penalties when individuals’ education is more specific, suggesting higher penalties for workers with VET. Therefore, we analyse horizontal mismatch in Switzerland, the country with the highest proportion of firm-based VET in the OECD. We use two measures from the Swiss Household Panel that cover different aspects of horizontal mismatch. While we find sizable mismatch wage penalties in OLS estimations, effects are small or insignificant in fixed-effects regressions. This holds for workers with vocational and general education background alike. We conclude that VET is more transferable than often assumed. We finish with recommendations on concept and methods for future analyses of horizontal mismatch. Date: 2020 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:applec:v:52:y:2020:i:32:p:3464-3478 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2020.1713292 Access Statistics for this article Applied Economics is currently edited by Anita Phillips More articles in Applied Economics from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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