Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/111198 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 141
Publisher: 
University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Zurich
Abstract: 
This paper studies the effects of the apprenticeship system on innovation and labor market polarization. A stylized model with two key features is developed: (1) apprentices are more productive due to industry-specific training, but (2) from the firm's perspective, when training apprentices, technological innovation is costly since training becomes obsolete. Thus, apprentices correlate with slower adoption of skillreplacing technologies, but also less employment polarization. We test this hypothesis on German regions given local variation in apprenticeship systems until 1976. The results shows no employment polarization related to apprentices, but similar displacement of non-apprentices as in the US.
Subjects: 
Apprentices
educational system
employment polarization
technology adoption
JEL: 
E24
I24
J24
J62
O33
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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