Skills Training: Public Policy Aspects

This article describes factors influencing investments in skills training as well as related outcomes in terms of participation rates and benefits on an individual and societal level. Market mechanisms largely drive human capital investments. According to this logic, workers and employers conduct a cost–benefit analysis, weighing expected payoffs against expected costs and investing accordingly. At the same time, market failures and collective action problems may occur in the provision of training. Various policies and institutions have been shown to resolve such problems and boost training. Whereas participation rates vary widely by firm characteristics, high rates of participation help countries specialize in high-quality production and achieve high job satisfaction.