The Determinants of Participation in Adult Education and Training in Canada

Hui, Taylor Shek-wai and Smith, Jeffrey A. (2002): The Determinants of Participation in Adult Education and Training in Canada.

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of participation in, and the amount of time spent on, public and private adult education and training in Canada. Using the master file data from the 1998 Adult Education and Training Survey, we estimate probit models of adult education and training (hereafter just “training”) incidence and hurdle models of total time spent in training. Consistent with the literature, we find that relatively advantaged workers, such as those who have completed high school, are working full time, and work at large firms, acquire more training, often with financial help from their employers. Direct government-sponsored training represents a relative minor component of total training, and is not well targeted to the disadvantaged. This is both surprising and problematic, as the primary justification for government-financed training is to overcome credit constraints among the low skilled and the secondary justification is redistribution. We find large differences among provinces in the incidence of training; this variation appears to result from differences in provincial policies related to training.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Adult Education; Training; Canada.
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I28 - Government Policy; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity

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