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and firms, but they are agree that investment in training by enterprises is essential to increasing
difficult to measure... productivity and maintaining competitiveness. Gains from enterprise-based
training can be looked at in terms both of the human capital held by individuals
and the overall productivity of the enterprise. It can be difficult however to
show direct links between particular episodes of investment and specific
productivity gains, and harder still to aggregate the effects of such investments
to calculate their overall effect on production or earnings.
An important reason for attempting such measurement is the danger of
under-investment in training due to market failures. In particular, the fact that
enterprises do not  own the human capital embodied in their employees
may deter them from investing in resources that can be poached by other
firms. Other potential market failures arise from unequally distributed
information on training, particularly in firms of differing size and in different
sectors, and from imperfect capital markets to finance training. The evidence
on market failure is not clear-cut, however. For example, two recent papers on
training in France come to very different conclusions on the question of worker
mobility following training.6 Moreover, the common view that employers will
only pay for firm-specific skills is challenged by a recent study showing that
most of the skills learned in training are useful elsewhere (Loewentstein and
60
Spletzer, 1997).
RETURNS TO INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL
Table 4.2 provides a summary of the principal findings of the international ... and dispersed evidence
literature on the benefits of enterprise-based training for individuals and firms. indicates that:
While it is difficult to generalise from such a diverse sample of studies, the
weight of the empirical evidence is that:
 training does generate increased wages for trained workers, and increased ... training does improves
productivity for those enterprises that train and innovate. Some of the productivity, with about half
gain goes to workers in wages and some is kept by firms: it has been the gain distributed
estimated that these two shares are of roughly the same size (OECD, in wages...
1994, Part II, p. 126);
 enterprise-based training has the greatest impact on performance when ... the impact is greatest
undertaken in connection with changes in work organisation, job in connection with change
structure, and, in some instances, technological innovation (Black and in work structures.
Lynch, 1996; Ichniowski et al., 1994).
Benefits of public labour market training programmes
Public labour market training and other active programmes to enhance
the employability of various types of worker have played an important part in
government strategies to improve human capital (see Chapter 3 above). There
has been increasing interest in research on their effectiveness.
The international literature suggests that the macroeconomic impact of The evidence of impact of public
such policies in creating additional employment is limited, with the exception labour market training
programmes shows some impact
of direct job-creation measures. However, training programmes may generate
net employment gains under conditions of skill shortages or mismatches on unemployment...
(Calmfors, 1994; OECD, 1993). Moreover, several studies show that spending on
active labour market programmes can help lower unemployment, including its
 structural or long-term level (Scarpetta, 1996), and can help labour markets to
adjust to sudden change.
At the micro-economic level, the potential contribution of such policies is ... as well as benefits to some
to enhance employment opportunities for individuals belonging to less- individuals but possibly
advantaged labour market categories  whether at the expense of other at the expense of others...
individuals or because of the creation of new jobs. Here the empirical evidence
is inconclusive. Table 4.3 provides a summary of studies of the impact of active
labour market programmes, which are mainly concentrated in North America.
Europe lags behind North America in the availability of good evaluations of
active labour market policies which measure their effectiveness in improving
employability and enhancing earnings.
Insofar as there is international evidence (see OECD, 1993; Fay, 1996), ... well-targeted programmes
it indicates low or insignificant benefits from public labour market training providing market-relevant skills
programmes in a wide range of OECD countries. This evidence cannot be taken are more effective...
as conclusive, partly because few studies have been long enough in duration to
measure adequately long-run effects, and because they do not typically account
for spin-off social benefits like lower crime and better health. Moreover, training
programmes that are targeted at specific client groups, that provide training in
market-relevant skills, and that are adapted to individual skill needs have
indeed been proved effective in enhancing employment prospects and earnings
61
of their participants.
HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT  AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
Table 4.2. Impact of continuing education and training and enterprise flexibility on performance of workers
and enterprises: summary of results from recent surveys and analyses
Country and source Findings
Canada, United States New work organisation and specific work-place practices such as training, alternative pay systems, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]