Previous research on educational decisions has almost exclusively focused on individual decisions to start a particular education. At the same time, the decision to revise an educational choice has hardly been analyzed, unless it is the decision to drop out. However, dropping out is only one...

This paper presents empirical evidence on premature terminations of apprenticeship contracts in Germany. Our novel approach uses human capital theory with a regional component as a clear-cut framework for the analysis. It derives testable hypotheses on individual decisions to finish an...

In this paper, we study the role of occupational skills in individuals’ labor market transitions. Using rich data on skills required in occupations, we introduce a concept of occupation-specific human capital and develop empirical measures for occupational specificity and occupation distance....

Summary The decision to revise an educational choice has hardly been analyzed in previous research. Dropping out is only one possible choice, and we distinguish between dropping out (leaving the apprenticeship system) and changing or upgrading (staying within the apprenticeship system) as three...

We evaluate the effects of employer-provided formal training on employee suggestions for productivity improvements and on promotions among male blue-collar workers. More than twenty years of personnel data of four entry cohorts in a German company allow us to address issues such as unobserved...

Evidence suggests that acquiring human capital is related to better life outcomes, yet young peoples’ decisions to invest in or stop acquiring human capital are still poorly understood. We investigate the role of time and reference-dependent preferences in such decisions. Using a data set that...

Evidence suggests that acquiring human capital is related to better life outcomes, yet young peoples' decisions to invest in or stop acquiring human capital are still poorly understood. We investigate the role of time and reference-dependent preferences in such decisions. Using a data set that...

We use a long panel data set for four entry cohorts into an internal labor market to analyze the effect of age on the probability to participate in different training measures. We find that training participation probabilities are inverted u-shaped with age and that longer training measures are...