The effect of automation technology on workers' training participation (with Simon Janssen and Ute Leber)
[Published "open access" at the Economics of Education Review, Volume 96, October 2023]
Abstract: We use detailed survey data to study the influence of automation technology on workers’ training participation. We find that workers who are exposed to substitution by automation are 15 percentage points less likely to participate in training than those who are not exposed to it. However, workers who leave occupations that are highly exposed to automation increase their training participation, while those who enter them train consistently less. The automation training gap is particularly pronounced for medium-skilled and male workers, and is largely driven by the lack of ICT training and training for soft skills. Moreover, workers in exposed occupations receive less financial and nonfinancial training support from their firms, and the training gap is almost entirely related to a gap in firm-financed training courses.
Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102438
Related Policy Report: https://iab.de/publikationen/publikation/?id=9772697
Preference-Choice Mismatch and the University Dropout Decision (with Didier Fouarge)
[Published at Labour Economics, Volume 83, August 2023]
Abstract: Drawing on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we show that students who select majors that do not match their occupational preferences prior to enrolling in university are more likely to drop out than those who do choose majors that match their occupational preferences. Our findings suggest that this gap cannot be explained by institutional obstacles to entering a major. Instead, the primary mechanisms behind this phenomenon are indecisiveness and preference changes.
Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102405
Ungated version: https://docs.iza.org/dp16215.pdf