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The Provision and Effects of Company Training: A Brief Review of the Literature

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  • Rita Asplund

Abstract

This paper reviews recent empirical research on economic benefits of company-provided training in search for answers to questions such as: What kinds of training do companies provide? Who is trained? How intensively? For what reason? Do trained employees experience an earnings advantage over non-trained? Does training enhance employability, mobility, and promotion? Do companies, and the society at large, benefit from these investments? Despite growing interest in these questions, our current knowledge on the economic role of company-provided training demands great cautiousness in drawing policy implications concerning the crucial questions of inequality of access to company training and training market failures, among others.

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  • Rita Asplund, 2005. "The Provision and Effects of Company Training: A Brief Review of the Literature," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 31, pages 47-73.
    • Handle: RePEc:noj:journl:v:31:y:2005:p:47-73
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    Cited by:

    1. Pfeifer, Christian, 2013. "Intra-firm Wage Compression and Cost Coverage of Training: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 80030, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Frosch, Katharina & Göbel, Christian & Zwick, Thomas, 2011. "Separating wheat and chaff: age-specific staffing strategies and innovative performance at the firm level," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 44(4), pages 321-338.
    3. Steffes, Susanne & Warnke, Arne Jonas, 2019. "Determinants of work-related training: An investigation of observed and unobserved firm-, job- and worker-heterogeneity," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-022, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Pfeifer, Christian & Janssen, Simon & Yang, Philip & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2011. "Effects of Training on Employee Suggestions and Promotions in an Internal Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 5671, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Francisca Bremberger & Rudolf Hochholzer & Peter Huber, 2016. "Labour turnover, employment density and employer provided training: Evidence from Vienna," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 2(1), pages 5-22.
    6. Caliendo, Marco & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Seitz, Helke & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2016. "Locus of Control and Investment in Training," IZA Discussion Papers 10406, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Maliranta, Mika & Asplund, Rita, 2007. "Training and Hiring Strategies to Improve Firm Performance," Discussion Papers 1105, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    8. Wotschack, Philip, 2020. "Drivers of training participation in low skilled jobs: the role of ‘voice’, technology, innovation and labor shortages in German companies," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 245-264.
    9. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Shiho Futagami & Silvia Teuber & Andrea Willi, 2013. "Differences in Initial Training and Wages of Japanese Engineering and Retailing Companies - Who Pays for Higher Training Costs?," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0090, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    10. Jorge Calero & Josep-Oriol Escardíbul, 2014. "Barriers to non-formal professional training in Spain in periods of economic growth and crisis. An analysis with special attention to the effect of the previous human capital of workers," Working Papers 2014/12, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    11. Blyde, Juan, 2016. "Exports and Labor Skills: The Role of Training," MPRA Paper 72150, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Pahnke, André & Icks, Annette & Kay, Rosemarie, 2013. "Übernahme von Auszubildenden: Betriebsgrößenspezifische Analysen," IfM-Materialien 221, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    13. Yuki, Kazuhiro, 2009. "Government and human capital in a model of development through modernization and specialization," MPRA Paper 19760, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Bellmann, Lutz & Dummert, Sandra & Leber, Ute, 2013. "Betriebliche Weiterbildung für Ältere – eine Längsschnittanalyse mit den Daten des IAB-Betriebspanels," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 67(4), pages 311-330.
    15. Philip Wotschack, 2020. "When Do Companies Train Low‐Skilled Workers? The Role of Institutional Arrangements at the Company and Sectoral Level," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 587-616, September.
    16. Marco Caliendo & Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Cosima Obst & Arne Uhlendorff, 2020. "Risk Preferences and Training Investments," CEPA Discussion Papers 23, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    17. Christiane Hinerasky & Rene Fahr & Sabine Simons, 2014. "Wage Returns of Company Training - Evidence from a Comparison Group Approach," Working Papers Dissertations 17, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    18. Wotschack, Philip, 2019. "When do Companies Train Low Skilled Workers? The Role of Technological Change, Human Resources Practices, and Institutional Arrangements," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 97-104.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • M53 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Training
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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