Impact of Continuing Education on Stable Employment and Wages of Men and Women in Serbia

Main Article Content

Kosovka Ognjenović

Abstract

This paper examines whether continuing education and training contribute to overall job security and to narrowing the gender wage gap, thereby mitigating the potential effects of employer discrimination. Data from the Serbian Survey on Income and Living Conditions are used, focusing on 2020 and estimating wage regressions. The main results show that participation in continuing education and training has a positive effect on wages and contributes to reducing the wage gap, especially for individuals who were previously unemployed and participated in some form of additional training. This paper contributes to the understanding of the importance of training and its impact on employment stability and workers' wages in the post-transition economy. The findings presented in this paper are advisory to both policy makers and management. In general, it can be stated that trained employees are better suited to work tasks and, especially if they are satisfied with the knowledge acquired in the company, contribute to a stable environment that makes it easier for them to meet the demands of competition. On the other hand, this implies the empirically confirmed assumption that competition may be negatively correlated with employer discrimination. However, employee participation in continuing education and training in Serbia is still below the optimal level.

Article Details

Section

Articles

References

Albanese, A., & Gallo, G. (2020). Buy flexible, pay more: The role of temporary contracts on wage inequality. Labour Economics, 64 (June), 101814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101814

Barrenechea-Méndez, M., Ortín-Ángel, P., & Rodes, E. C. (2022). Employee selection, education, and firm-provided training. Business Research Quarterly, 25(3), 224–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/2340944420970960

Blau, F., & Kahn, L. (2003). Understanding international differences in the gender pay gap. Journal of Labor Economics, 21(1), 106-144. https://doi.org/10.1086/344125

Blázquez, M., Herrarte, A., & Llorente-Heras, R. (2018). Competencies, occupational status, and earnings among European university graduates. Economics of Education Review, 62 (February), 16-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.10.006

Bradić-Martinović, A. & Banović, J. (2018). Assessment of digital skills in Serbia with focus on gender gap. Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, 1-2, 54-67. https://doi.org/10.28934/jwee18.12.pp54-67

Brown, R. S., Moon, M, & Zoloth, B. S. (1980). Incorporating occupational attainment in studies of male-female earnings differentials. The Journal of Human Resources, 15(1), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/145344

Cairó, I. & Cajner, T. (2018). Human capital and unemployment dynamics: Why more educated workers enjoy greater employment stability. The Economic Journal, 128(609), 652–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12441

Doerr, A. (2022). Vocational training for female job returners - Effects on employment, earnings and job quality. Labour Economics, 75 (April), 102139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102139

Doerr, A., Fitzenberger, B., Kruppe, T., Paul, M., & Strittmatter, A. (2017). Employment and earnings effects of awarding training vouchers in Germany. Industrial Labor Relations (ILR) Review, 70(3), 767-812. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793916660091

European Commission. (2022). Education and Training Monitor 2022 - Comparative Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eac/education-and-training-monitor-2022/downloads/comparative-report/Education-and-Training-Monitor-Comparative-Report.pdf

Eurostat. (2022). Gender pay gap in unadjusted form by NACE Rev. 2 activity–structure of earnings survey methodology [earn_gr_gpgr2]. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/EARN_GR_GPGR2/default/table?lang=en

Fanfani, B. (2022). Tastes for discrimination in monopsonistic labour markets. Labour Economics, 75 (April), 102107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102107

Filippetti, A., Guy, F., & Iammarino, S. (2019). Regional disparities in the effect of training on employment. Regional Studies, 53(2), 217–230. ttps://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2018.1455177

Fortin, N. M., Bell, B., & Böhm, M. (2017). Top earnings inequality and the gender pay gap: Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Labour Economics, 47 (August), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2017.05.010

Gay, R. S., & Borus, M. E. (1980). Validating performance indicators for employment and training programs. The Journal of Human Resources, 15(1), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/145345

Government of the Republic of Serbia. (2021). Employment Strategy of the Republic of Serbia 2021-2026. Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No 18/21 and 36/21 – correction.

Hedija, V. (2017). Sector-specific gender pay gap: evidence from the European Union Countries. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 30:1, 1804-1819. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2017.1392886

Hoyer, B., van Huizen, T., Keijzer, L., Rezaei, S., Rosenkranz, S. & Westbrock, B. (2020). Gender, competitiveness, and task difficulty: Evidence from the field. Labour Economics, 64 (June), 101815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101815

Jackson, D., Shan, H., & Meek, S. (2022). Employer development of professional capabilities among early career workers and implications for the design of work-based learning. The International Journal of Management Education, 20(3), 100692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100692

Janeska, V., & Lozanoska, A. (2021). Impact of digitalization on the labour market: The case of North Macedonia. Economic Analysis, 54(1), 24-40. https://doi.org/10.28934/ea.21.54.1.pp24-40

Kochoian, N., Raemdonck, I., & Frenay, M. (2022). Pointing Out Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Studies on ‘Learning Motivation’ and ‘Training Motivation’ in Workplace Settings. A Literature Review. In Research Approaches on Workplace Learning. Professional and Practice-based Learning, ed. Christian Harteis, David Gijbels and Eva Kyndt, 77-115. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89582-2_4

Kramer, A., & Tamm, M. (2018). Does learning trigger learning throughout adulthood? Evidence from training participation of the employed population. Economics of Education Review, 62 (February), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.11.004

Lüthi, S., & Wolter, S. C. (2021). Is Being Competitive Always an Advantage? Degrees of Competitiveness, Gender, and Premature Work Contract Termination. IZA DP no. 14675. https://docs.iza.org/dp14675.pdf

Mamaqi, X., Miguel, J., & Pilar, O. (2012). What impact does training have on employment stability? International Journal of Engineering Education, 28(6), 1257–1265.

Ognjenović, K. (2021). Gender wage gap in Serbia: inheritance and sources of the wage gap. Stanovništvo, 59(2), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.2298/STNV2102123O

Ognjenović, K., Kuzmanov, L., & Pavlović, D. (2021). Ex ante analiza Strategije zapošljavanja Republike Srbije za period 2021-2026. Belgrade: Government of the Republic of Serbia.

Picchio, M., & van Ours, J. C. (2013). Retaining through training even for older workers. Economics of Education Review, 32 (February), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.08.004

Schmidt, S. W. (2009). Employee demographics and job training satisfaction: the relationship between dimensions of diversity and satisfaction with job training. Human Resource Development International, 12(3), 297–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678860902982082

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. (2022a). SILC–Survey on Income and Living Conditions. Databases for 2020.

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. (2022b). Continuing Vocational

Training. Communication no. DD70. https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2022/Pdf/G20221090.pdf

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. (2020). Structure of Earnings Survey. Bulletin no. 664. https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2020/Pdf/G20205664.pdf

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. (2018). Adult Education

Survey. Communication no. DD60. https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2018/Pdf/G20181131.pdf

Vladisavljević, M., Avlijaš, S., & Vujić, S. (2015). Gender Wage Inequality in the Western Balkans. In Inequalities During and After Transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Studies in Economic Transition, ed. Cristiano Perugini and Fabrizio Pompei, 222–243. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137460981_10

Zweimüller, J., & Winter-Ebmer, R. (1996). Manpower training programmes and employment stability. Economica, 63(249), 113–130. https://doi.org/10.2307/2554637