Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2912
Authors: Shoshana Neuman; Adrian Ziderman
Abstract: There is a considerable empirical literature which compares wage levels of workers who have studied at secondary vocational schools with wages of workers who took academic schooling. In general, vocational education does not lead to higher wages. In some countries where labour markets are characterized by employment growth, skill shortages and a good match between vocational skills and available jobs, the record of vocational schooling has been more positive. Israel constitutes a case in point. Little attention has been given to examining the success of vocational education in raising the wages of various sub-sections of the labour force, in particular of minorities and disadvantaged groups. In this paper, we examine the efficacy of vocational education in raising the wage levels of four such groups: recent immigrants, Jews of Eastern origin, Israeli Arabs and females. The results are mixed, differing from group to group, thus justifying our approach of examining the impact of vocational schooling on finer breakdowns of the population of secondary school completers.
Keywords: Arabs; Ethnicity; Gender; Human Capital; Immigration; Vocational Education; Wage Differentials
JEL Codes: I21; J15; J16; J21; J24; J31; J44; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| vocational education (J24) | wage advantages for new immigrants (J31) |
| vocational education (J24) | wage premium for Sephardic Jews (J79) |
| vocational education (J24) | wage premium for Ashkenazi Jews (J79) |
| vocational education (J24) | wage advantages for women (J31) |
| economic environment (P42) | effectiveness of vocational education (J24) |
| matching of vocational skills with labor market needs (J24) | wage outcomes (J31) |
| lack of transferability of vocational skills (J24) | wage outcomes for immigrants (J61) |