The Long-term Earnings Consequences of General vs. Specific Training of the Unemployed

Anders Stenberg and Olle Westerlund ()

No 8668, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Training programs for the unemployed typically involve teaching specific skills in demand amongst employers. In 1997, Swedish unemployed could also choose general training at the upper secondary school level. Despite the dominance of programs offering specific training, long-term relative earnings effects of general vs. specific training are theoretically ambiguous. Analyzing detailed administrative data 1990-2010, we find specific training associated with higher earnings in the short run, but that earnings converge over time. Results also indicate that individuals act on their comparative advantages. Long-run earnings advantages of general training are found for females with limited prior education and among metropolitan residents.

Keywords: vocational training; adult education; active labor market programs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J62 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2014-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-lab and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published - published in: IZA Journal of European Labor Studies 2015, 4:22.

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Related works:
Journal Article: The long-term earnings consequences of general vs. specific training of the unemployed (2015)
Working Paper: The long-term earnings consequences of general vs. specific training of the unemployed (2014)
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