Active labor market programs - employment gain or fiscal drain?

This paper provides a new perspective by classifying active labor market programs (ALMPs) depending on their objectives, relevance and cost-effectiveness during normal times, a crisis and recovery. We distinguish ALMPs providing incentives for retaining employment, incentives for creating employment, incentives for seeking and keeping a job, incentives for human capital enhancement and improved labor market matching. Reviewing evidence from the literature, we discuss especially indirect effects of various interventions and their cost-effectiveness. The paper concludes by providing a systematic overview of how, why, when and to what extent specific ALMPs are effective

The transformation of the German vocational training regime : evidence from firms' training behaviour

The German system of industrial relations has undergone significant changes in the last decade. This article reflects on and provides empirical evidence for how these changes have affected the training behaviour of firms. Conventional perspectives would predict a general decline in training investment when the constraints of collective wage bargaining are loosened. Relying on a large data set on the costs and benefits of apprenticeship training for the years 2000 and 2007, we do find evidence for this hypothesis but would add that the strength of the effect varies strongly across different types of firms. Large firms have benefited much more from participating in training than have small firms and have therefore maintained their investment in training because they are able to reduce net costs by expanding the productive contributions of apprentices. This finding may help to explain the apparent resilience of the German training system in the recent economic and financial crisis

When Do Companies Train Low‐Skilled Workers? The Role of Institutional Arrangements at the Company and Sectoral Level

The article investigates how institutional arrangements at the organizational and sectoral level affect the likelihood and size of employer investments in continuing training for low-skilled workers in Germany. By building on comparative political economy and organizational theory, hypotheses are derived and tested. Regression analysis based on the IAB Establishment Survey (waves 2011 and 2013) shows evidence that the training participation of low-skilled workers is related to institutional differences between sectors and organizations. At the organizational level, structures of employee representation and formalized HR policies are positively associated with higher rates of training participation among low-skilled workers. Moreover, there is evidence that low-skilled workers benefit in organizational clusters that are characterized by structures of employee representation, formalized HR practices, and bargaining coverage. At the sectoral level, this study finds evidence that low-skilled workers in the health care and manufacturing sector are more likely to receive continuing training

Drivers of training participation in low skilled jobs: the role of ‘voice’, technology, innovation and labor shortages in German companies

This article investigates the role of 'voice', technology, innovation (of products, services, or processes) and labor shortages in the training participation of low skilled workers in German companies. By building on the key findings of previous research, hypotheses on drivers of training participation are derived from filter theory and the concept of social embeddedness. Regression and cluster analysis based on the German IAB Establishment Panel (wave 2011) show evidence that training participation is shaped by 'voice'-related institutional company characteristics such as employee representation or formalized HR practices. Both characteristics often cluster together. Regression analyses confirm that companies in this cluster train a higher share of their low-skilled workforce. The share is particularly high when companies in this cluster face labor shortages. Apart from that, advanced technology and recent innovations at the company level are not related to higher rates of training participation among low skilled workers

Einflussfaktoren betrieblichen Weiterbildungshandelns im internationalen Vergleich

Betriebliche Weiterbildung, Europäische Weiterbildungserhebung, Institutionen, Heckman-Selektionsmodell , Continuing vocational training, CVTS 2, Institutions, Heckman selection model ,