Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Bonn |
| Number of pages | 56 |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - Jan 2024 |
Publication series
| Name | IZA Discussion Papers |
|---|---|
| Volume | 16779 |
| ISSN (electronic) | 2365-9793 |
Abstract
Keywords
- adult education, unemployment, East Germany, non-formal education, Volkshochschule
Sustainable Development Goals
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Bonn, 2024. (IZA Discussion Papers; Vol. 16779).
Research output: Working paper/Preprint › Working paper/Discussion paper
}
TY - UNPB
T1 - Can voluntary adult education reduce unemployment?
T2 - Causal evidence from East Germany after reunification
AU - Rupieper, Li Kathrin Kaja
AU - Thomsen, Stephan L.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - After the German Reunification in 1990, East Germany transitioned from a centrally planned economic system to a market economy. At the time, upskilling through adult education was deemed essential for the successful integration of the workforce into the labor market. Besides substantial mandatory training programs provided by active labor market policies, Volkshochschulen (VHS) were the most important providers of voluntary adult education. The economic effects of their courses have not been analyzed so far. Based on newly digitized data, we evaluate the effects of VHS courses on unemployment in a county-level analysis of East Germany between 1991 and 2002. Our identification strategy is based on a decentralized expansion of courses, which led to substantial and quasi-random variation in course numbers. We find no evidence that VHS courses harmed labor market integrations, in contrast to some active labor market policies. Courses did not affect subsequent unemployment on average. Yet, in counties neighboring West Germany, we find that courses reduced unemployment. Low labor demand may have restricted the realization of education effects. As both work-related and purely recreational courses reduced unemployment in counties bordering West Germany, our results also hint towards the relevance of social capital for successful labor market integrations.
AB - After the German Reunification in 1990, East Germany transitioned from a centrally planned economic system to a market economy. At the time, upskilling through adult education was deemed essential for the successful integration of the workforce into the labor market. Besides substantial mandatory training programs provided by active labor market policies, Volkshochschulen (VHS) were the most important providers of voluntary adult education. The economic effects of their courses have not been analyzed so far. Based on newly digitized data, we evaluate the effects of VHS courses on unemployment in a county-level analysis of East Germany between 1991 and 2002. Our identification strategy is based on a decentralized expansion of courses, which led to substantial and quasi-random variation in course numbers. We find no evidence that VHS courses harmed labor market integrations, in contrast to some active labor market policies. Courses did not affect subsequent unemployment on average. Yet, in counties neighboring West Germany, we find that courses reduced unemployment. Low labor demand may have restricted the realization of education effects. As both work-related and purely recreational courses reduced unemployment in counties bordering West Germany, our results also hint towards the relevance of social capital for successful labor market integrations.
KW - adult education
KW - unemployment
KW - East Germany
KW - non-formal education
KW - Volkshochschule
M3 - Working paper/Discussion paper
T3 - IZA Discussion Papers
BT - Can voluntary adult education reduce unemployment?
CY - Bonn
ER -