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Apprenticeship Training and the Business Cycle

Author

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  • Mühlemann, Samuel

    (University of Munich)

  • Wolter, Stefan C.

    (University of Bern)

  • Wüest, Adrian

    (affiliation not available)

Abstract

Dual apprenticeship training is a market-driven form of education at the upper secondary level, taking place in firms as well as in vocational schools. So far, little is known about the impact of the business cycle on the number of apprenticeship programs offered by firms. Using panel-data of Swiss cantons from 1988-2004, we find that the influence of the business cycle is statistically significant, but small in size. Instead, supply of apprenticeship programs is driven to a much greater extent by demographic change. Conversely, the number of first-year high school students is not affected by the business cycle. We find, however, that enrollment increases if the population at age 16 grows, but access to high schools does not become more restricted in times of negative growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Mühlemann, Samuel & Wolter, Stefan C. & Wüest, Adrian, 2009. "Apprenticeship Training and the Business Cycle," IZA Discussion Papers 4460, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4460
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pfann, Gerard & Muehlemann, Samuel & Pfeifer, Harald & Dietrich, Hans, 2018. "Supply Shocks in the Market for Apprenticeships: Evidence from a German High School Reform," CEPR Discussion Papers 12669, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Thomas Bolli & Guillaume Morlet, 2023. "Does human capital theory govern the relationship between training provision and the business cycle? Evidence from Switzerland," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2023 26, Stata Users Group.
    3. Mueller, Barbara & Wolter, Stefan C., 2011. "The Consequences of Being Different: Statistical Discrimination and the School-to-Work Transition," IZA Discussion Papers 5474, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Samuel Muehlemann & Harald Pfeifer & Felix Wenzelmann, 2013. "The Costs of Recruiting Apprentices: Evidence from German Firm-Level Data," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0095, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Nov 2015.
    5. Muehlemann, Samuel & Dietrich, Hans & Pfann, Gerard & Pfeifer, Harald, 2022. "Supply Shocks in the Market for Apprenticeship Training," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Paul Ryan & Uschi Backes-Gellner & Silvia Teuber & Karin Wagner, 2012. "Apprentice pay in Britain, Germany and Switzerland: institutions, market forces, market power," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0075, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    7. Beatrice Brunner & Andreas Kuhn, 2014. "The impact of labor market entry conditions on initial job assignment and wages," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 705-738, July.
    8. Michael Siegenthaler, 2011. "Can a standardized aptitude test predict training success of apprentices?," KOF Working papers 11-270, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    9. Baldi, Guido & Brüggemann-Borck, Imke & Schlaak, Thore, 2014. "The Effect of the Business Cycle on Apprenticeship Training: Evidence from Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 412-422.
    10. Samuel Lüthi & Stefan C. Wolter, 2020. "Are apprenticeships business cycle proof?," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 156(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Jansen, Anika & de Grip, Andries & Kriechel, Ben, 2016. "The Effect of Choice Options in Training Curricula on the Supply of and Demand for Apprenticeships," IZA Discussion Papers 9697, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Paul Ryan, 2011. "Apprenticeship: between theory and practice, school and workplace," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0064, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Oct 2011.
    13. Mirjam Strupler Leiser & Stefan C. Wolter, 2017. "Empirical Evidence on the Effectiveness of Social Public Procurement Policy: The Case of the Swiss Apprenticeship Training System," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(2), pages 204-222, June.
    14. Michael Siegenthaler, 2011. "Can a standardized aptitude test predict training success of apprentices? Evidence from a case study in Switzerland," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0054, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    15. Bellmann Lutz & Gerner Hans-Dieter & Leber Ute, 2014. "Firm-Provided Training During the Great Recession," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 234(1), pages 5-22, February.
    16. Muehlemann, Samuel & Wolter, Stefan C., 2011. "Firm-sponsored training and poaching externalities in regional labor markets," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 560-570.
    17. Samuel Muehlemann & Stefan Wolter, 2014. "Return on investment of apprenticeship systems for enterprises: Evidence from cost-benefit analyses," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-22, December.
    18. Dummert, Sandra & Umkehrer, Matthias, 2021. "The Short-Run Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Vocational Education in Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 202122, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    19. Mühlemann, Samuel & Pfann, Gerard A. & Pfeifer, Harald & Dietrich, Hans, 2018. "The Effects of Supply Shocks in the Market for Apprenticeships: Evidence from a German High School Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 11264, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Laporte, Christine & Mueller, Richard, 2010. "The Persistence Behaviour of Registered Apprentices: Who Continues, Quits, or Completes Programs?," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2010-21, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 27 May 2010.
    21. Jansen, Anika & de Grip, Andries & Kriechel, Ben, 2017. "The effect of choice options in training curricula on the demand for and supply of apprentices," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 52-65.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    high school enrollment; apprenticeship training; business cycle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations

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