Labor Market Effects of Adult Education Vouchers: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

Dolores Messer, Guido Schwerdt, Ludger Woessmann and Stefan Wolter
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Dolores Messer: University of Bern, Switzerland

No 94, Economics of Education Working Paper Series from University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Abstract: Lifelong learning is often promoted in ageing societies, but little is known about its returns or governments' ability to advance it. This paper evaluates the effects of a large-scale randomized field experiment issuing vouchers for adult education in Switzerland. We find no significant average effects of voucher-induced adult education on earnings, employment, and subsequent education one year after treatment. But effects are heterogeneous: Low-education individuals are most likely to profit from adult education, but least likely to use the voucher. The findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of existing unrestricted voucher programs in promoting labor market outcomes through adult education.

Keywords: Field experiment; voucher; adult education; LATE; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 H43 I22 J24 M53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2013-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-exp, nep-lab and nep-nps
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iso:educat:0094

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