IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/izaldv/v4y2015i1p1-2310.1186-s40175-015-0029-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investing in formal on-the-job training: are SMEs lagging much behind?

Author

Listed:
  • Rita Almeida
  • Reyes Aterido

Abstract

In a modern economy, the investment in human capital by firms is crucial to foster technological adoption and foster productivity growth. This paper analyzes the correlation between firm size and the investment in job training by employers. Using a large firm level data set across 99 developing countries, we show that a strong and positive correlation in the investment in job training and firm size is a robust statistical finding both within and across countries with very different institutions and levels of development. Even though we cannot fully disentangle correlation from causality, we show that the size-training gap is not fully explained by differences across firms in market imperfections or institutional failures impeding the development of smaller firms. Our findings call for the urgency of collecting better panel data sets to understand how cost-effective are on-the-job training programs in fostering firm productivity and growth in developing countries. Jel codes: J24, D24 Copyright Almeida and Aterido; licensee Springer. 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Rita Almeida & Reyes Aterido, 2015. "Investing in formal on-the-job training: are SMEs lagging much behind?," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-23, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:izaldv:v:4:y:2015:i:1:p:1-23:10.1186/s40175-015-0029-3
    DOI: 10.1186/s40175-015-0029-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1186/s40175-015-0029-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40175-015-0029-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Van Biesebroeck, Johannes, 2005. "Firm Size Matters: Growth and Productivity Growth in African Manufacturing," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 545-583, April.
    2. Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2004. "Evaluating the Effect of Tax Deductions on Training," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(2), pages 461-488, April.
    3. Rosholm, Michael & Nielsen, Helena Skyt & Dabalen, Andrew, 2007. "Evaluation of training in African enterprises," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 310-329, September.
    4. Hartog,Joop & Maassen van den Brink,Henriëtte (ed.), 2009. "Human Capital," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521117562, October.
    5. de Mel, Suresh & McKenzie, David & Woodruff, Christopher, 2009. "Innovative Firms or Innovative Owners? Determinants of Innovation in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises," IZA Discussion Papers 3962, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Krishna B. Kumar & Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, "undated". "What Determines Firm Size?," CRSP working papers 496, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
    7. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Luc Laeven & Ross Levine, 2008. "Finance, Firm Size, and Growth," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(7), pages 1379-1405, October.
    8. Teal, Francis, 1996. "The Size and sources of economic rents in a developing country manufacturing labour market," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 963-976, July.
    9. Tsung-Ping Chung, 2000. "The Returns to Education and Training: Evidence from the Malaysian Family Life Surveys," Studies in Economics 0007, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    10. Eslava, Marcela & Haltiwanger, John & Kugler, Adriana & Kugler, Maurice, 2004. "The effects of structural reforms on productivity and profitability enhancing reallocation: evidence from Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 333-371, December.
    11. Eslava, Marcela & Haltiwanger, John & Kugler, Adriana & Kugler, Maurice, 2004. "The effects of structural reforms on productivity and profitabality enhancing reallocation: evidence from Colombia," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0408, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    12. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2008. "How Important Are Financing Constraints? The Role of Finance in the Business Environment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 22(3), pages 483-516, November.
    13. Rita Almeida & Marta Faria, 2014. "The wage returns to on-the-job training: evidence from matched employer-employee data," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-33, December.
    14. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    15. Heckman, James J & Lochner, Lance & Taber, Christopher, 1998. "Tax Policy and Human-Capital Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 293-297, May.
    16. Almeida, Rita & Carneiro, Pedro, 2009. "The return to firm investments in human capital," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 97-106, January.
    17. Courtney Monk & Justin Sandefur & Francis Teal, 2008. "Does Doing an Apprenticeship Pay Off? Evidence from Ghana," CSAE Working Paper Series 2008-08, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    18. Anne Beeson Royalty, 1996. "The Effects of Job Turnover on the Training of Men and Women," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(3), pages 506-521, April.
    19. Emilio Colombo & Luca Stanca, 2008. "The Impact of Training on Productivity: Evidence from a Large Panel of Firms," Working Papers 134, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2008.
    20. Ibarrarán, Pablo & Maffioli, Alessandro & Stucchi, Rodolfo, 2009. "SME Policy and Firms’ Productivity in Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 4486, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Lorraine Dearden & Howard Reed & John Van Reenen, 2006. "The Impact of Training on Productivity and Wages: Evidence from British Panel Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 68(4), pages 397-421, August.
    22. Dollar, David & Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Mengistae, Taye, 2005. "Investment Climate and Firm Performance in Developing Economies," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 1-31, October.
    23. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    24. Sandra E. Black & Lisa M. Lynch, 2001. "How To Compete: The Impact Of Workplace Practices And Information Technology On Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 434-445, August.
    25. Bassanini, Andrea & Booth, Alison L. & Brunello, Giorgio & De Paola, Maria & Leuven, Edwin, 2005. "Workplace Training in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 1640, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    26. Andries De Grip & Jan Sauermann, 2012. "The Effects of Training on Own and Co‐worker Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(560), pages 376-399, May.
    27. Lucia Foster & John Haltiwanger & Chad Syverson, 2008. "Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(1), pages 394-425, March.
    28. Emilio Colombo & Luca Stanca, 2014. "The impact of training on productivity: evidence from a panel of Italian firms," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 1140-1158, October.
    29. Patrizio Pagano & Fabiano Schivardi, 2003. "Firm Size Distribution and Growth," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 105(2), pages 255-274, June.
    30. Hollis Chenery† & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), 1988. "Handbook of Development Economics," Handbook of Development Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    31. Rosenzweig, Mark R., 1988. "Labor markets in low-income countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 15, pages 713-762, Elsevier.
    32. Hong Tan & Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys, 2003. "Mexico : in-firm training for the knowledge economy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2957, The World Bank.
    33. Bartel, Ann P, 1995. "Training, Wage Growth, and Job Performance: Evidence from a Company Database," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(3), pages 401-425, July.
    34. repec:ecj:econjl:v:122:y:2012:i::p:376-399 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Frazer, Garth, 2006. "Learning the master's trade: Apprenticeship and human capital in Ghana," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 259-298, December.
    36. Pack, Howard & Westphal, Larry E., 1986. "Industrial strategy and technological change : Theory versus reality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 87-128, June.
    37. Richard K. Johanson & Arvil V. Adams, 2004. "Skills Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15028, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Olga Kupets, 2018. "Employer‐provided training, innovation and skills in post‐Soviet countries," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(4), pages 725-768, October.
    2. Miguel Jaramillo & Bruno Escobar, 2022. "Employment protection legislation and on-the-job training in an informal labor market: Evidence from Peru," Working Papers 184, Peruvian Economic Association.
    3. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Andrea Benecchi & Jim Malley, 2017. "Can Subsidising Job-Related Training Reduce Inequality?," CESifo Working Paper Series 6605, CESifo.
    4. Kupets, Olga, 2018. "Investment in human capital in post-Soviet countries: Why are firms not training more?," CEI Working Paper Series 2017-7, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    5. Henrik Hansen & S. Kanay De & John Rand & Neda Trifković, 2023. "Wage returns to workplace training in Myanmar," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(2), March.
    6. Henrik Hansen & S Kanayade & John Rand & Neda Trifkovic, 2021. "Workplace training in Myanmar: Determinants and wage returns," DERG working paper series 21-10, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Development Economics Research Group (DERG).
    7. Spyridon Boikos & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2023. "Bribery, on-the-job training, and firm performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 37-58, January.
    8. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Andrea Benecchi & James Malley, 2017. "Can subsidising job-related training reduce inequality?," Working Papers 2017_10, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    9. Del Carmen María & Vásquez-Torres, 2018. "Factorial analysis of the elements that compose the training in the small and medium enterprises of the Industrial sector," Management, Sciendo, vol. 22(2), pages 42-59, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rita Almeida & Marta Faria, 2014. "The wage returns to on-the-job training: evidence from matched employer-employee data," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-33, December.
    2. Almeida, Rita & Carneiro, Pedro, 2009. "The return to firm investments in human capital," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 97-106, January.
    3. Van Biesebroeck, Johannes, 2011. "Wages Equal Productivity. Fact or Fiction? Evidence from Sub Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1333-1346, August.
    4. Dan A. Black & Lars Skipper & Jeffrey A. Smith & Jeffrey Andrew Smith, 2023. "Firm Training," CESifo Working Paper Series 10268, CESifo.
    5. Maloney, William F. & Sarrias, Mauricio, 2017. "Convergence to the managerial frontier," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 284-306.
    6. Maliranta, Mika & Asplund, Rita, 2007. "Training and Hiring Strategies to Improve Firm Performance," Discussion Papers 1105, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    7. Almeida, Rita K. & Aterido, Reyes, 2011. "On-the-job training and rigidity of employment protection in the developing world: Evidence from differential enforcement," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(S1), pages 71-82.
    8. Liu, Qing & Lu, Ruosi, 2016. "On-the-job training and productivity: Firm-level evidence from a large developing country," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 254-264.
    9. Andrea Lasagni & Annamaria Nifo & Gaetano Vecchione, 2015. "Firm Productivity And Institutional Quality: Evidence From Italian Industry," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 774-800, November.
    10. Brandt, Loren & Van Biesebroeck, Johannes & Zhang, Yifan, 2012. "Creative accounting or creative destruction? Firm-level productivity growth in Chinese manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 339-351.
    11. Ulrich Doraszelski & Jordi Jaumandreu, 2018. "Measuring the Bias of Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(3), pages 1027-1084.
    12. Marcela Eslava & Marcela Melendez, 2009. "Politics, Policies and the Dynamics of Aggregate Productivity in Colombia," Research Department Publications 4633, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    13. Jozef Konings & Stijn Vanormelingen, 2015. "The Impact of Training on Productivity and Wages: Firm-Level Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 485-497, May.
    14. Eslava, Marcela & Haltiwanger, John C. & Kugler, Adriana & Kugler, Maurice, 2009. "Trade Reforms and Market Selection: Evidence from Manufacturing Plants in Colombia," IZA Discussion Papers 4256, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Doan Thi Thanh Ha & Kozo Kiyota & Kenta Yamanouchi, 2016. "Misallocation and Productivity: The Case of Vietnamese Manufacturing," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 33(2), pages 94-118, September.
    16. Tian, Binbin & Lin, Chao & Zhang, Wenwen & Feng, Chen, 2022. "Tax Incentives, On-the-job Training, and Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    17. Henrik Hansen & S. Kanay De & John Rand & Neda Trifković, 2023. "Wage returns to workplace training in Myanmar," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(2), March.
    18. Dobbelaere, Sabien & Kiyota, Kozo & Mairesse, Jacques, 2015. "Product and labor market imperfections and scale economies: Micro-evidence on France, Japan and the Netherlands," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 290-322.
    19. Christian Pfeifer & Simon Janssen & Philip Yang & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2011. "Effects of Training on Employee Suggestions and Promotions in an Internal Labor Market," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0061, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:izaldv:v:4:y:2015:i:1:p:1-23:10.1186/s40175-015-0029-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.