This paper proposes a new measurement for the specificity of occupations based on a content analysis of training curricula that we link to labor market demands. We apply Lazear's (2009) skill weights approach and test predictions on labor market outcomes derived from his theory. We find clear evidence of a trade-off between earning higher returns with more specific training and higher occupational mobility with less specific training. Our measure improves the micro-foundation of human capital specificity and provides an evidence-based approach to evaluate the specificity of training curricula.

We study the role of occupational skills for labour market transitions after layoffs. Drawing on Lazear’s skill-weights approach, we develop empirical measures for occupational specificity and the skill distance between occupations to investigate how skills map into job mobility and wages. Our analysis reveals several important insights. First, higher occupational specificity is associated with lower job mobility and a longer period of unemployment. However, it is also associated with higher wages. Workers receive a wage premium of about 9% for re-employment in a one standard deviation more specific occupation. These results suggest a risk–return trade-off to educational investments into more specific skills. Second, the skill distance is negatively associated with wages. Workers moving between occupations with similar skill requirements suffer smaller wage losses than those with more distant moves. Thus, skills appear to be transferable across occupations and to play a pivotal role in the determination of wages.

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp11081.pdf Non-technical SummaryIn this paper we investigate whether local characteristics influence entrepreneurial activities. One local characteristic that may drive the decision to establish a firm in a specific region is the supply of infrastructure. Infrastructure important for entrepreneurial activity may take different forms and functions. First, trade and industrial growth require physical infrastructure like streets, rails and waterways. Second, particularly for knowledge-and technology-based ventures the knowledge infrastructure is crucial. Third, an additional type of knowledge spillovers may foster local entrepreneurial activities: the local business community. Those networks may help create specific and tacit business knowledge and contacts which may be vital for entrepreneurial firms. We further focus on a region's broadband availability which may spur entrepreneurial activities. New broadband infrastructure may reduce the necessity of physical proximity. Furthermore, taking broadband as a virtual marketplace and an infrastructure for customer contact, its roll-out and the increase of quality is a requirement for firm formations.Using a county-year panel structure we consider the impact of broadband availability on company foundations and control for standard impact factors on venture activities. The central variable of our analysis is a broadband indicator. Broadband penetration is measured on a county basis. A county is equipped with broadband if at least one main distribution frame (MDF) in the county is upgraded to allow for broadband access. We account for different issues with MDFs: Multiple MDFs may be installed within one county, MDFs at county boundaries do not only provide access to households and companies in that county but also to connected consumers in the neighboring counties, and changes of county boundaries across time must be taken into account.On sector level, we find a significantly positive influence of broadband availability on entrepreneurial intensities in high-tech industries like software and technology-intensive services (knowledge-intensive services). In contrast, no influence exists if we look at all sectors.Moreover, other infrastructural drivers of founding activities follow the results known from the literature. In consequence, our study provides evidence for an additional driver of entrepreneurial activities which supports the ...

The new training literature views regulated labour markets as critical for firms’ willingness to participate in apprenticeship training. These regulations allow training firms to retain their apprenticeship graduates at the end of the training period and recoup training costs. Yet, in spite of an only loosely regulated labour market, many Swiss firms offer and pay for training. Using representative data from a large employer–employee survey, we investigate whether these firms use performance pay to retain their graduates. We find that both the magnitude and the likelihood of performance pay are significantly related to a firm’s retention success.

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