Volume 19, Number 4 (Fall) 1984
Simpson, Wayne. 1984. “An Econometric Analysis of Industrial Training in Canada.” Journal of Human Resources 19(4):435-451.
An exploratory econometric model to explain the duration of industrial training programs and assess training policy is developed in this paper. Based on the theoretical framework of Becker and Hashimoto, models for general and specific training are formulated and estimated by Tobit regression using data from the Human Resources Survey of the Economic Council of Canada. The major results are that most training is conducted in large firms, that turnover discourages specific training but encourages general training, that government assistance encourages specific (but not general) training, and that neither minimum wages nor unions have significant negative impacts on training.
The author is a member of the Department of Economics faculty at the University of Manitoba. The author acknowledges the financial assistance and access to the Human Resources Survey provided by the Economic Council of Canada. In particular, the author thanks Arnold de Silva and Gordon Betcherman of the Economic Council for their comments and encouragement and Masanori Hashimoto for correspondence which assisted in the formulation of the model. The author is also indebted to two anonymous referees for numerous helpful criticisms and suggestions that prompted an extensive revision. Remaining errors and omissions are the responsibility of the author. This study is based on “An Economic Analysis of Industrial Training in Canada,” Discussion Paper No. 224 of the Economic Council of Canada.
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