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Vocational Training: Does it speed up the Transition Rate out of Unemployment?

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  • Bart Cockx

    (IRES and Department of Economics, Université Catholique de Louvain)

  • Isabelle Bardoulat

    (IRES and Department of Economics, Université Catholique de Louvain)

Abstract

In this paper we estimate, for the 1989-93 period in Belgium, the effect of vocational classroom training on therate of transition out of unemployment. We show that rationing of the demand for training increases theunemployment duration of non-participants, an effect neglected in programme evaluations. We propose a "controlfunction" estimator accounting for variable treatment effects and identifying the average treatment effect on thetreated by means of exogenous sub-regional variation in the training capacities. During participation, thetransition rate decreases by 27%. Afterwards it increases by 62%. Making training available for a broader populationwould, however, reduce the effectiveness of the programme.

Suggested Citation

  • Bart Cockx & Isabelle Bardoulat, 2000. "Vocational Training: Does it speed up the Transition Rate out of Unemployment?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 00-016/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20000016
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    Cited by:

    1. Caliendo, Marco & Steiner, Viktor, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse (Active labour market policy in Germany * review ans assessment of the microecono," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 396-418.
    2. Betcherman, Gordon & Olivas, Karina & Dar, Amit, 2004. "Impacts of active labor market programs : new evidence from evaluations with particular attention to developing and transition countries," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 29142, The World Bank.
    3. Caliendo, Marco & Steiner, Viktor, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse (Active labour market policy in Germany * review ans assessment of the microecono," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 396-418.
    4. Michael White and Genevieve Knight, 2003. "Benchmarking the effectiveness of NDYP: A review of European and US literature on the microeconomic effects of labour market programmes for young people," PSI Research Discussion Series 10, Policy Studies Institute, UK.
    5. Viktor Steiner & Tobias Hagen, 2002. "Was kann die Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland aus der Evaluationsforschung in anderen europäischen Ländern lernen?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 189-206, May.
    6. Van der Linden, Bruno & Dor, Eric, 2001. "Labor Market Policies and Equilibrium Employment : Theory and Application for Belgium," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2001005, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. Caliendo, Marco & Steiner, Viktor, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland : Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse (Active labour market policy in Germany * review ans assessment of the microecono," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 38(2/3), pages 396-418.
    8. Marco Caliendo & Viktor Steiner, 2005. "Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland: Bestandsaufnahme und Bewertung der mikroökonomischen Evaluationsergebnisse," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 515, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Éric Dor & Bruno Van der linden, 2001. "Allocations, sanctions et formations : leur impact sur la formation des salaires et le taux de sortie du chômage," Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(1), pages 117-131.
    10. Ric D. Herbert & Gareth D. Leeves, 2003. "Labour Market Policies and Long‐term Unemployment in a Flow Model of the Australian Labour Market," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 197-213, June.
    11. Bart COCKX, 2000. "The design of active labour market policies: Building in effective incentives," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 139(4), pages 457-480, December.
    12. Van der Linden, Bruno & Dor, Eric, 1998. "The net effect of unemployment benefits, sanctions and training on aggregate unemployment outflows," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2000020, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2000.
    13. Bruno Crépon & Marc Ferracci & Denis Fougere, 2012. "Training the Unemployed in France: How Does it Affect Unemployment Duration and Recurrence?," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 107-108, pages 175-199.
    14. Cockx, Bart, 1999. "The Design of Active Labour Market Policies. What Matters and What Doesn't ?," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1999035, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    15. Bruno Van der Linden & Eric Dor, 2003. "The net effect of unemployment benefits, sanctions and training on regular employment," Working Papers 2003-ECO-01, IESEG School of Management.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vocational training; evaluation; transition models; job-search;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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