The demand for post-compulsory education in four European countries

This study seeks to explain changes in the proportion of 16 year olds, 17 year olds and 18 year olds who decide to participate in post-compulsory education. Four countries are considered; Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and England, over as much of the period from 1960 to the present day as data will allow. An initial inspection of the data reveals non-stationarity in virtually all of the series under consideration, so that a cointegration framework is appropriate. The analysis therefore proceeds using the two-stage procedure proposed by Engle and Granger. The results suggest that the key variable that explains the growth in post-compulsory education participation is the increase in prior academic attainment before the end of compulsory schooling. This is the case particularly for females, males being also influenced by the returns available to offering a higher level of education, and the level of real income available to ''spend'' on education. The level of youth unemployment seems to play only a small part in the decision as to whether to remain in education

A Cross-Country Comparison of the Determinants of Vocational Training

Using data from the European Labour Force Survey, the characteristics of individuals who receive vocational training is compared in six European countries; Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. As well as the incidence of training, the intensity is also considered. In addition, training is split into its on-the-job and off-the-job components. The spectrum of training within these six countries runs from Germany at one end, where most training is the intensive upskilling of young, unqualified workers, to Sweden at the other end, where the typical training spell is of short duration and is given to middle-aged, well-educated employees in professional jobs. Thus the pattern of training is largely determined by a country's system of education. In Germany, vocational skills are not taught within the formal education sector, and are learned through participation on an apprenticeship scheme, while in Sweden, students do learn vocational skills at school, and so the workplace training we observe is mainly 'top-up' courses.

The Demand for Post-Compulsory Education in Four European Countries

This study seeks to explain changes in the proportion of 16 year olds, 17 year olds and 18 year olds who decide to participate in post-compulsory education. Four countries are considered; Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and England, over as much of the period from 1960 to the present day as data will allow. An initial inspection of the data reveals non-stationarity in virtually all of the series under consideration, so that a cointegration framework is appropriate. The analysis therefore proceeds using the two-stage procedure proposed by Engle and Granger. The results suggest that the key variable that explains the growth in post-compulsory education participation is the increase in prior academic attainment before the end of compulsory schooling. This is the case particularly for females, males being also influenced by the returns available to offering a higher level of education, and the level of real income available to 'spend' on education. The level of youth unemployment seems to play only a small part in the decision as to whether to remain in education.

Is the Over-Education Wage Penalty Permanent?

Much has been written about the impact of over-education on wages using cross-sectional data, although there have been few studies that analyse the returns to over-education in a dynamic setting. This paper adds to the existing literature by using panel data to investigate the impact and permanence of over-education wage penalties, whilst controlling for unobserved individual heterogeneity. Our fixed effects estimates suggest that the over-education wage penalty cannot solely be explained by unobserved heterogeneity. Over-education is permanent for many workers since around 50 percent of workers over-educated in 1991 are still over-educated in 2005. However, we also show that these workers are of lower quality compared to around 25 percent who find a match within five years of being over-educated. Finally, there is a significant scarring effect for workers over-educated in 1991 since they never fully reach parity compared to those who were matched in 1991, although this is not the case for graduates who manage to find a match within 5 years.Over-education, Skills

Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in the UK: An Analysis of Graduate Occupation Choice from the 1960s to the 1990s

This paper examines the market for teachers in the UK from 1960 to 1996 using graduate cohort data from 5 separate cohorts. We find that relative wages in teaching compared to alternative professions have a significant impact on the likelihood of graduates choosing to teach, although the impact depends upon the market situation at the time. The wage effect on the supply of teachers is strongest at times of low relative teachers' wages, or following a period of decline in those wages. It is also strongest for those individuals who have more recently graduated.labour supply, teachers, relative wages

The Impact of Distance to Nearest Education Institution on the Post-Compulsory Education Participation Decision

This paper uses data sources with the unique capacity to measure distances between home addresses and education institutions, to investigate, for the first time, the effect that such distance has on an individual's post-compulsory education participation decision. The results show that there is no overall net effect. However, when attention is focussed on young people who are on the margin of participating in post-compulsory education (according to their prior attainment and family background) and when post-compulsory education is distinguished by whether it leads to academic or vocational qualifications, then greater distance to nearest education institution is seen to have a significant impact on the decision to continue in full-time post-compulsory education. This finding has relevance for education participation in rural areas relative to urban areas.post-compulsory education participation, travel distance