Dieser Aufsatz fasst Resultate aus einem einzigartigen Experiment mit Weiterbildungsgutscheinen zusammen. Im Jahr 2006 wurden 2'400 Personen ein Weiterbildungsgutschein zugestellt, der sie zur Bezahlung einer frei gewählten Weiterbildung berechtigte. Das Nutzungsverhalten kann mit einer...

In this paper, we use firm-level data to analyse a firmÕs costs of recruiting apprentices in Germany. We find that recruitment costs amount on average to 600 Euros per hire (approximately one month of apprentice pay), but costs are heterogenous across firms and vary strongly with the training...

We investigate the effects of works councils on apprenticeship training. The German law attributes works councils substantial information and co-determination rights on training-related issues. Thus, works councils may also have an impact on the cost-benefit relation of workplace training. Using...

This paper examines the influence of works councils on apprenticesÕ absence from the workplace in Germany. The analysis draws on merged administrative and survey data, including information on the cumulated days apprentices are absent from work due to sickness. On average, apprentices are...

Lifelong learning is often promoted in ageing societies, but little is known about its returns or governmentsÕ ability to advance it. This paper evaluates the effects of a large-scale randomized field experiment issuing vouchers for adult education in Switzerland. We find no significant average...

Individual returns on continuing vocational training have been in the focus of many empirical and theoretical papers. Most of the works do not explicitly discuss returns to training that is financed fully or partly by the employee. This seems surprising since several publicly funded programs to...