Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/46030 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 5180
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Several studies document the fact that low-educated workers participate less often in further training than high-educated workers. The economic literature suggests that there is no significant difference in employer willingness to train low-educated workers, which leaves the question of why the low educated invest less in training unanswered. This paper investigates two possible explanations: Low-educated workers invest less in training because of 1) the lower economic returns to these investments or 2) their lower willingness to participate in training. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity that can affect the probability of enrolling into training, we find that the economic returns to training for low-educated workers are positive and not significantly different from those for high-educated workers. However, loweducated workers are significantly less willing to participate in training. This lesser willingness to participate in training is driven by economic preferences (future orientation, preference for leisure), as well as personality traits (locus of control, exam anxiety, and openness to experience).
Subjects: 
returns to training
preferences
non-cognitive skills
JEL: 
J24
J31
C21
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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