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General Education, Vocational Education, and Labor-Market Outcomes over the Life-Cycle

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  • Eric A. Hanushek
  • Guido Schwerdt
  • Ludger Woessmann
  • Lei Zhang

Abstract

Policy proposals promoting vocational education focus on the school-to-work transition. But with technological change, gains in youth employment may be offset by less adaptability and diminished employment later in life. To test for this trade-off, we employ a difference-in-differences approach that compares employment rates across different ages for people with general and vocational education. Using micro data for 11 countries from IALS, we find strong and robust support for such a trade-off, especially in countries emphasizing apprenticeship programs. German Microcensus data and Austrian administrative data confirm the results for within-occupational-group analysis and for exogenous variation from plant closures, respectively.

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  • Eric A. Hanushek & Guido Schwerdt & Ludger Woessmann & Lei Zhang, 2015. "General Education, Vocational Education, and Labor-Market Outcomes over the Life-Cycle," Economics Working Papers 15113, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
    • Handle: RePEc:hoo:wpaper:15113
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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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