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Take Your Time to Grow: A Field Experiment on the Hiring of Youths

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  • Dorothea Kübler
  • Julia Schmid
  • Robert Stüber

Abstract

We investigate the effect of spells of no formal employment of young Germans on their chances of entering the labor market through an apprenticeship. We also study whether the potential negative effects of such spells can be mitigated by publicly provided training measures. In a field experiment, the fictitious applications of three young women were sent to firms advertising apprenticeships for the position of office manager. One application was from a fresh school‐leaver and two from applicants who had been out of school for two years, where one of them had participated in a training measure. We find that applicants who have been out of school for two years and have participated in the training are more successful than older applicants without additional training. We do not find a significant difference between older applicants with or without training and fresh school leavers. Our findings show that training measures increase the attractiveness of applicants and that the potential stigma of spells of no formal employment after school are compensated by informal work experience or age or a combination of both.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothea Kübler & Julia Schmid & Robert Stüber, 2019. "Take Your Time to Grow: A Field Experiment on the Hiring of Youths," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 20(4), pages 706-729, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:germec:v:20:y:2019:i:4:p:e706-e729
    DOI: 10.1111/geer.12188
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kelly Bedard, 2001. "Human Capital versus Signaling Models: University Access and High School Dropouts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(4), pages 749-775, August.
    2. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Piopiunik, Marc & Schwerdt, Guido & Simon, Lisa & Woessmann, Ludger, 2020. "Skills, signals, and employability: An experimental investigation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. Holtmann, Anne Christine & Ehlert, Martin & Menze, Laura & Solga, Heike, 2021. "Improving Formal Qualifications or Firm Linkages-What Supports Successful School-to-Work Transitions among Low-Achieving School Leavers in Germany?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 218-237.
    3. Hillerich-Sigg, Annette, 2020. "Transitions from lower track secondary schools into vocational training: Does a detour pay off?," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-049, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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