The role of hard-to-obtain information on ability for the school-to-work transition

Abstract

When information about the abilities of job seekers is difficult to obtain, statistical discrimination by employers may be an efficient strategy in the hiring and wage-setting process. In this article, we use a unique, longitudinal survey that follows the PISA 2000 students in their early educational and work-life careers. We find that a deviance in the PISA test scores from what one would have predicted based on easy-to-obtain observable characteristics influences the probability of succeeding in the transition from compulsory schooling to a firm-based apprenticeship significantly but in a non-symmetric way. Only those who had a test result below their predicted result have significantly lower chances of getting an apprenticeship. We also find evidence that the importance of hard-to-obtain information on ability is further revealed in the course of the apprenticeship. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Keywords

Author Keywords

School-to-work transition PISA Statistical discrimination

Index Keywords

Job search student education Information statistical analysis

Author Affiliations

University of Bern, Bern, BE, Switzerland, CESifo GmbH, Munich, Bayern, Germany, IZA - Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Bern, Switzerland

Funding & Acknowledgements

Universität Basel

As of 2008, Transitions from Education to Employment (TREE) is co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the University of Basel. From 2000 to 2007, the project has been financed and/or carried out by said SNSF, the Departments of Education of the three cantons Berne, Geneva and Ticino, the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, SNF

As of 2008, Transitions from Education to Employment (TREE) is co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the University of Basel. From 2000 to 2007, the project has been financed and/or carried out by said SNSF, the Departments of Education of the three cantons Berne, Geneva and Ticino, the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Bundesamt für Berufsbildung und Technologie, BBT

As of 2008, Transitions from Education to Employment (TREE) is co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the University of Basel. From 2000 to 2007, the project has been financed and/or carried out by said SNSF, the Departments of Education of the three cantons Berne, Geneva and Ticino, the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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The role of hard-to-obtain information on ability for the school-to-work transition

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