Barriers to Skill Acquisition: Evidence from English Training in India

Arbeitspapier

Skill development is increasingly viewed as a way to escape the low education – high unemployment trap in developing countries. Consequently, policy makers in these countries are extensively investing in skill development programs. However, participation and completion rates in many of these programs remains low. This paper investigates factors that prevent individuals from acquiring spoken English, an important skill with potentially high returns in the labor market. Using data from a field experiment in India that subsidizes the cost of learning spoken English, we find that full subsidy (compared to partial or no subsidy) positively effects the probability of participating in a spoken English training program. Conversely, distance to the training center, pre-existing knowledge of spoken English, and past enrollment in a similar course act as significant barriers to take-up. These findings suggest that multidimensional policy solutions are required to overcome the barriers to skill development in developing countries.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 10199

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Education and Economic Development ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing
• Subject: skill development ; vocational training ; spoken English ; field experiment ; India

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Jain, Tarun ; Maitra, Pushkar ; Mani, Subha
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/147885
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET