In this study, the effects of several educational and non-educational indicators of (aspects of) competence on short-term labour market outcomes for university graduates are estimated. The research question we address is: To what extent do indications of specific and generic competence during...

We review the empirical literature about the implications of the computerization ofthe labor market to see whether it can explain observed computer adoptionpatterns and (long-term) changes in the wage structure. Evidence from empiricalmicro studies turns out to be inconsistent with macro studies...

Firms and apprentices have conflicting interests with respect to the content of training programmes. On the basis of a model for the investment decision in occupation-specific and generic training, I will show that, in the case of imperfect competition, firms are not only unwilling to pay for...

Skill-biased technical change is usually interpreted in terms of the efficiency parameters of skilled and unskilled labor. This implies that the relative productivity of skilled workers changes proportionally in all tasks. In contrast, we argue that technical changes also affect the curvature of...

The measurement of competences is a relatively new topic in the economic science. In the past, economists have usually measured worker competences by educational background, tenure, or other simple quantifiable indicators. In the transition from the industrial to the knowledge economy, however,...

Despite indications that interpersonal interactions are important for understanding individual labor-market outcomes and have become more important over the last decades, there is little analysis by economists. This paper shows that interpersonal interactions are important determinants of...

This article explores the total (measured and unmeasured) effect of education on different socio-economic outcomes. The analysis shows that the usual regression models typically underestimate the effects of education. The effects of education are decomposed into three sources of variation:...

Using data from the 1997 Skills Survey of the Employed British Workforce, we examine the returns to computer skills in Britain. Many researchers, using information on computer use, have concluded that wage differentials between computer users and non-users might, among others, be due to...

After graduation many students start working in sectors not related to their field of study or participate in training targeted at work in other sectors. In this paper, we look at mobility immediately after graduation from the perspective that educational choices have been made when these pupils...

The transition from school to work is a phase of life in which young people are introduced to the world of labour. This transition process is often far from smooth and it can be characterized as a turbulent and precarious period (OECD 1998; Kerckhoff 2000). First of all, the transition from school...