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Workplace Training Unpacked: Labor Market Competition and Investment in General Skills

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  • Albanese, Mattia
  • Aliberti, Manfredi

    (Rome Economics Doctorate)

Abstract

Skills acquired on the job, whether general or industry-specific, significantly influence workers' labor market outcomes. Workers with general skills tend to have higher re-employment prospects and greater resilience to economic shocks. Using novel data from a recent policy intervention in the Italian labor market, we develop a new measure that captures the tasks taught in firm-provided training for individual workers. This measure enables us to examine the relationship between labor market competition and firms' decisions to invest in general versus industry-specific skills. Our findings indicate that, as theory predicts, workers in more competitive labor markets receive less general training.

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  • Albanese, Mattia & Aliberti, Manfredi, 2024. "Workplace Training Unpacked: Labor Market Competition and Investment in General Skills," SocArXiv 4ugq5, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:4ugq5
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/4ugq5
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