Specialty Training and Wages in Cote d’Ivoire

Abstract

Educational policies are struggling to guide the training according to labor market requirements. This paper analyzes the impact of the training specialization on employment and the associated wage. To better capture the effects of training, we estimate the Heckman(1979) two-step  model  that allows correcting for the sample selection bias. We use a database comprising 4.293 individuals from the Household Living Standards Survey, conducted by the National Statistics Institute (NSI) in 2002. The results show that vocational training provides an advantage in access to employment and higher wages compared to general education. Therefore, national educational policies should more promote vocational training. In addition, the family (marriage, being head of the family) is not a factor which reduces the rate of spouses’ activity in contrast to what researchers found in Europe. Nationals of West Africa have as much chance to be occupied as the Ivoirians. The country of origin is not a discrimination factor in the labor market.