How firms’ participation in apprenticeship training fosters knowledge diffusion and innovation

Innovation and Training in New Firms

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How Rm-speciic Is German Apprenticeship Training ?

Firms participating in the German apprenticeship system do so voluntarily. Previous studies have found that on the average participating rms incur positive net cost from providing skills that appear to be easily transferable across rms. This is at variance with standard human capital theory that predicts that such training will be provided by rms operating in a com-petitve market only if worker...

How Transferable is German Apprenticeship Training?

Both the effectiveness of German Apprenticeship Training (GAT) and the reasons why firms voluntarily subsidise it hinge on how transferable it is. Describing the regulations surrounding GAT and examining the effects of post-apprenticeship mobility on wages and skill use using German panel data, we show that GAT is transferable within a broad vocational field (e.g. a 1-digit occupational group)....

Knowledge Diffusion and Innovation

In this brief note we reply to César García-Díaz and Diemo Urbig who reviewed our book on Knowledge Diffusion and Innovation (Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham, 2010). We take this opportunity to reaffirm our personal view on several relevant issues, such as the need for a holistic view in economics, the adoption of a pragmatic heuristic approach when dealing with complex socio-economic syste...

Creative participation in construction firms: bridging creativity and innovation