Market Failures and the Under-Provision of Training

53 Pages Posted: 22 Oct 2004

See all articles by Giorgio Brunello

Giorgio Brunello

University of Padua - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Maria De Paola

Università degli Studi della Calabria - Department of Economics and Statistics

Date Written: September 2004

Abstract

This paper reviews both the theoretical underpinnings and the empirical evidence in support of the under-provision of training. While there is little if any evidence in support of underprovision because of liquidity constraints to the demand side of the market, there is evidence that employers provide and pay for general training, and that the provision of skills encourages labor turnover. The combination of these two facts suggests that the labor market provides less training than optimal. The balance of the existing empirical evidence suggests that policy discussions should focus on the employer rather than on employees. Therefore, we conclude our review by discussing policies which affect the employer' marginal benefits and marginal costs of training.

Keywords: training, efficiency, turnover

JEL Classification: J24

Suggested Citation

Brunello, Giorgio and De Paola, Maria, Market Failures and the Under-Provision of Training (September 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=608944 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.608944

Giorgio Brunello (Contact Author)

University of Padua - Department of Economics ( email )

via Del Santo 33
35121 Padova
Italy
+39 049 827 4223 (Phone)
+39 049 827 4221 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute for Economic Research)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Maria De Paola

Università degli Studi della Calabria - Department of Economics and Statistics ( email )

via Ponte Bucci
Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza 87036
Italy

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