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The effects of vocational education on adult skills, employment and wages: What can we learn from PIAAC?

Author

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  • Giorgio Brunello

    (University of Padova
    Cesifo
    IZA
    ROA)

  • Lorenzo Rocco

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

We have shown that vocational education does not perform as well as academic education both in labour market outcomes and in the level of basic skills, including literacy and numeracy. This is especially true for higher education. Only at the upper secondary or post-secondary level does vocational education perform slightly better than academic education in the probability of being currently employed as well as in the time spent in paid employment, although the differences we find are small.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgio Brunello & Lorenzo Rocco, 2017. "The effects of vocational education on adult skills, employment and wages: What can we learn from PIAAC?," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 315-343, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:series:v:8:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s13209-017-0163-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s13209-017-0163-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Jie & Pastore, Francesco, 2021. "Does Vocational Education Pay Better, or Worse, Than Academic Education?," IZA Discussion Papers 14445, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Chiara Cavaglia & Sandra McNally & Guglielmo Ventura, 2020. "Do Apprenticeships Pay? Evidence for England," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(5), pages 1094-1134, October.
    3. Guo, Dong & Wang, Anyi, 2020. "Is vocational education a good alternative to low-performing students in China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    5. Jie Chen & Francesco Pastore, 2024. "Dynamics of returns to vocational education in China: 2010–2017," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Lorenzo Cappellari & Daniele Checchi & Marco Ovidi, 2022. "The effects of schooling on cognitive skills: evidence from education expansions," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def122, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    7. Sami Ullah & Zilakat K. Malik, 2020. "Analysis of the Determinants of Participation, Strengths and Weaknesses of Vocational Trainings of Federally Administered Tribal Area's Development Authority," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(3), pages 149-157.
    8. Gershoni, Naomi & Stryjan, Miri, 2023. "Do Deadlines Affect Project Completion? Experimental Evidence from Israeli Vocational Colleges," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 359-375.
    9. Vandenberg, Paul & Laranjo, Jade, 2021. "Vocational training and labor market outcomes in the Philippines," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Simona Lorena Comi & Mara Grasseni & Federica Origo, 2022. "Sometimes it works: the effect of a reform of the short vocational track on school-to-work transition," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(7), pages 1601-1619, April.
    11. repec:cep:cepisp:is03 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel, 2023. "Lifelong learning and employment outcomes: evidence from Sweden," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115171, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vocational education; Academic education; PIAAC; Skills; Employment; Wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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