New Publication
Train drain? Access to foreign workers and firms’ provision of training
Does better access to foreign workers reduce firms’ willingness to provide general skills training? We analyze how the opening of the Swiss labor market to workers from the European Union affected the number of apprenticeships that firms provide. We exploit that the availability of foreign workers increased more in firms close to the border because they gained unrestricted access to cross-border workers from Switzerland’s neighboring countries. Our Difference-in-Differences estimates suggest that firm-provided training to unskilled workers and access to foreign workers are not necessarily substitutes: opening the borders did not have a statistically significant effect on apprenticeship provision.
