Adam Smith Business School

Professor Marco Leonardi, University of Milan

"Unwilling to reskill? Evidence from a survey experiment with jobseekers (with Alexia Delfino, Andrea Garnero, Sergio Inferrera, and Raffaella Sadun)"
Wednesday, 22 May 2024. 15:00-16:30
Room 141, Adam Smith Business School & PGT Hub

Abstract

We study demand-side barriers preventing jobseekers from pursuing reskilling in high-demand occupations. By means of a discrete choice experiment, we quantify the demand for reskilling among Italian jobseekers and investigate its main determinants. Results indicate that there is substantial heterogeneity in the intention to reskill across various jobseeker groups, but also within-group across different types of training programs. Estimates of the willingness to pay for different training features indicate that participants value positively a higher job-finding rate post-training, but on average assign no positive value to reskilling compared to generic training. Age, occupational identity, and beliefs regarding monetary and social status returns in high-demand occupations are primary factors influencing reskilling intentions. We implement two different types of policy experiments to understand how to stimulate interest in reskilling. First, we find that a light-touch randomised informational treatment is effective in increasing interest in reskilling. Second, policy simulations show that unconditional training subsidies may not lead to higher take-up of reskilling.

Bio

Marco Leonardi is professor of economics at the university of Milan. His research interest are mainly in labour and education economics, has published recently in the AER Insights, Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization. He worked as a government official in the prime minister office of Italy.

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First published: 7 May 2024