High and steady or low and rising? Life-cycle earnings patterns in vocational and general education

In this paper, we compare experience-earnings profiles of employees with vocational andgeneral education background in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom,three countries with fundamentally different education systems. Using Mixed-EffectsLinear Regression Models we show that earnings of vocationally educated employeesare higher in the initial phase of their career. However, those with a general educationbackground catch up over time in the labor market. Life-cycle differences in earnings aremore pronounced in Germany than in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.