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Vocational vs. General Education and Employment over the Life-Cycle: New Evidence from PIAAC

Vocational vs. General Education and Employment over the Life-Cycle: New Evidence from PIAAC

326/2017 Franziska Hampf and Ludger Woessmann
working papers,culture and development
CESifo Economic Studies
https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifx012

326/2017 Franziska Hampf and Ludger Woessmann

It has been argued that vocational education facilitates the school-to-work transition but reduces later adaptability to changing environments. Using the recent international PIAAC data, we confirm such a trade-off over the life-cycle in a difference-in-differences model that compares employment rates across education type and age. An initial employment advantage of individuals with vocational compared to general education turns into a disadvantage later in life. Results are strongest in apprenticeship countries that provide the highest intensity of industry-based vocational education.

Culture and Development

CESifo Economic Studies

https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifx012