IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/halshs-00214192.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Is training more frequent when the wage premium is smaller? Evidence from the European Community Household Panel

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Bassanini

    (ERMES - Equipe de recherche sur les marches, l'emploi et la simulation - UP2 - Université Panthéon-Assas - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord (ancienne affiliation) - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Giorgio Brunello

    (dipartimento di scienze economiche - Unipd - Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua)

Abstract

According to Becker [1964], when labour markets are perfectly competitive, general training is paid by the worker, who reaps all the benefits from the investment. Therefore, ceteris paribus, the greater the training wage premium, the greater the investment in general training. Using data from the European Community Household Panel, we compute a proxy of the training wage premium in clusters of homogeneous workers and find that smaller premia induce greater incidence of off-site training, which is likely to impart general skills. Our findings suggest that the Becker model provides insufficient guidance to understand empirical training patterns. Conversely, they are not inconsistent with theories of training in imperfectly competitive labour markets, in which firms may be willing to finance general training if the wage structure is compressed, that is, if the increase in productivity after training is greater than the increase in pay.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Bassanini & Giorgio Brunello, 2008. "Is training more frequent when the wage premium is smaller? Evidence from the European Community Household Panel," Post-Print halshs-00214192, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00214192
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2007.01.002
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00214192
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00214192/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2007.01.002?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Knapp, Laura Greene & Seaks, Terry G, 1992. "An Analysis of the Probability of Default on Federally Guaranteed Student Loans," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(3), pages 404-411, August.
    2. Loewenstein, Mark A & Spletzer, James R, 1998. "Dividing the Costs and Returns to General Training," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 142-171, January.
    3. Adam J. Grossberg & Paul Sicilian, 1999. "Minimum Wages, On-the-Job Training, and Wage Growth," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(3), pages 539-556, January.
    4. Eric Bartelsman & Stefano Scarpetta & Fabiano Schivardi, 2003. "Comparative Analysis of Firm Demographics and Survival: Micro-Level Evidence for the OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 348, OECD Publishing.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1999. "The Structure of Wages and Investment in General Training," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(3), pages 539-572, June.
    6. Espen R. Moen & Åsa Rosén, 2004. "Does Poaching Distort Training?," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 71(4), pages 1143-1162.
    7. Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2001. "Continuous training in Germany," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(3), pages 523-548.
    8. Smith, Richard J & Blundell, Richard W, 1986. "An Exogeneity Test for a Simultaneous Equation Tobit Model with an Application to Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(3), pages 679-685, May.
    9. repec:iza:izadps:dp is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Paul Sicilian, 2001. "On-The-Job Training and Starting Wages," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(4), pages 809-816, October.
    11. Acemoglu, Daron & Pischke, Jorn-Steffen, 1999. "Beyond Becker: Training in Imperfect Labour Markets," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(453), pages 112-142, February.
    12. Alison L. Booth & Gylfi Zoega, 2004. "Is wage compression a necessary condition for firm-financed general training?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 88-97, January.
    13. Neumark, David & Wascher, William, 2001. "Minimum Wages and Training Revisited," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(3), pages 563-595, July.
    14. Edward P. Lazear, 2009. "Firm-Specific Human Capital: A Skill-Weights Approach," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(5), pages 914-940, October.
    15. Andrea Bassanini & Giorgio Brunello, 2006. "Is Training More Frequent When the Wage Premium is Smaller?: Evidence from the European Community," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 41, OECD Publishing.
    16. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August.
    17. John M. Barron & Mark C. Berger & Dan A. Black, 1999. "Do Workers Pay for On-The-Job Training?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(2), pages 235-252.
    18. Abowd, John M. & Kramarz, Francis, 2003. "The costs of hiring and separations," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 499-530, October.
    19. Alison L. Booth & Mark L. Bryan, 2005. "Testing Some Predictions of Human Capital Theory: New Training Evidence from Britain," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 391-394, May.
    20. Katz, Eliakim & Ziderman, Adrian, 1990. "Investment in General Training: The Role of Information and Labour Mobility," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(403), pages 1147-1158, December.
    21. Mark A. Loewenstein & James R. Spletzer, 1999. "General and Specific Training: Evidence and Implications," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(4), pages 710-733.
    22. Wiji Arulampalam & Alison L. Booth & Mark L. Bryan, 2004. "Training and the new minimum wage," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(494), pages 87-94, March.
    23. Harvey, A C, 1976. "Estimating Regression Models with Multiplicative Heteroscedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(3), pages 461-465, May.
    24. Andrea Bassanini & Giorgio Brunello, 2006. "Is Training More Frequent When the Wage Premium Is Smaller ?," Post-Print halshs-00129742, HAL.
    25. John M. Barron & Mark C. Berger & Dan A. Black, 1997. "On-the-Job Training," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number ojt, November.
    26. Pål Schøne, 2004. "Why is the Return to Training So High?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 18(3), pages 363-378, September.
    27. Stevens, Margaret, 1994. "A Theoretical Model of On-the-Job Training with Imperfect Competition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 46(4), pages 537-562, October.
    28. Gerfin, Michael, 2004. "Firm-Sponsored General Training in Frictional Labour Markets: An Empirical Analysis for Switzerland," IZA Discussion Papers 1077, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    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. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2013. "Retaining through training even for older workers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 29-48.
    2. Michele Raitano & Francesco Vona, 2017. "Competition, firm size and returns to skills: Evidence from currency shocks and market liberalisations," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(12), pages 2676-2703, December.
    3. Dietz Daniel & Zwick Thomas, 2020. "Training in the Great Recession – Evidence from an Individual Perspective," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 240(4), pages 493-523, August.
    4. Carla Haelermans & Lex Borghans, 2012. "Wage Effects of On-the-Job Training: A Meta-Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(3), pages 502-528, September.
    5. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2011. "Market imperfections and firm-sponsored training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 712-722, October.
    6. Bertoni Marco & Brunello Giorgio, 2022. "Training during recessions: recent European evidence," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, January.
    7. Rosario Scandurra & Marco Alberio, 2021. "A Classification of Factors Affecting Adults’ Skills Distribution," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.
    8. Peter Huber & Ulrike Huemer, 2009. "What Causes Gender Differences in the Participation and Intensity of Lifelong Learning?," WIFO Working Papers 353, WIFO.
    9. Peter Huber & Ulrike Huemer, 2015. "Gender Differences in Lifelong Learning: An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Marriage and Children," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(1), pages 32-51, March.
    10. Luz Adriana Florez & Lina Cardona-Sosa & Leonardo Fabio Morales & Julian Londoño, 2018. "The Returns from Training in Colombia: Evidence from a Longitudinal Survey," Borradores de Economia 1048, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

    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 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.
    2. Asplund, Rita, 2004. "The Provision and Effects of Company Training. A brief review of the literature," Discussion Papers 907, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    3. Dan A. Black & Lars Skipper & Jeffrey A. Smith & Jeffrey Andrew Smith, 2023. "Firm Training," CESifo Working Paper Series 10268, CESifo.
    4. Bassanini, Andrea & Brunello, Giorgio, 2003. "Is Training More Frequent When Wage Compression is Higher? Evidence from the European Community Household Panel," IZA Discussion Papers 839, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. repec:iza:izadps:dp is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Giorgio Brunello & Maria De Paola, 2004. "Market Failures and the Under-Provision of Training," CESifo Working Paper Series 1286, CESifo.
    7. Yanick Labrie & Claude Montmarquette, 2005. "La formation qualifiante et transférable en milieu de travail," CIRANO Project Reports 2005rp-04, CIRANO.
    8. Andrea Bassanini & Wooseok Ok, 2004. "How do firms' and individuals' incentives to invest in human capital vary across groups?," Working Papers halshs-00194344, HAL.
    9. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2011. "Market imperfections and firm-sponsored training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 712-722, October.
    10. Alison L. Booth & Pamela Katic, 2011. "Men at Work in a Land Down‐Under: Testing Some Predictions of Human Capital Theory," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 1-24, March.
    11. Daniel Dietz & Thomas Zwick, 2016. "The retention effect of training – portability, visibility, and credibility," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0113, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    12. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2011. "Market imperfections and firm-sponsored training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 712-722, October.
    13. Mohrenweiser, Jens & Zwick, Thomas & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2013. "Poaching and firm-sponsored training: First clean evidence," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-037, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Ericson, Thomas, 2004. "Personnel training: a theoretical and empirical review," Working Paper Series 2005:1, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    15. Michael Gerfin, 2003. "Work-Related Training and Wages: An empirical analysis for male workers in Switzerland," Diskussionsschriften dp0316, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    16. 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.
    17. Jung-Seung Yang, 2022. "Dynamics of Firm’s Investment in Education and Training: An Agent-based Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 1317-1351, December.
    18. Cecilia ALBERT & Carlos GARCÍA-SERRANO & Virginia HERNANZ, 2010. "On-the-job training in Europe: Determinants and wage returns," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 149(3), pages 315-341, September.
    19. Jens Mohrenweiser & Thomas Zwick & Uschi Backes‐Gellner, 2019. "Poaching and Firm‐Sponsored Training," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(1), pages 143-181, March.
    20. 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).
    21. Benson, Alan, 2013. "Firm-sponsored general education and mobility frictions: Evidence from hospital sponsorship of nursing schools and faculty," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 149-159.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    General training; Off-site training; Training wage premia; Wage compression; ECHP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:hal:journl:halshs-00214192. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.