Skill Development Within and Outside School, Nonacademic Skills, and Labor Market Outcomes

Skills are a major determinant of economic competitiveness in knowledge-driven economies. Improving skills is therefore a key policy objective. Policies that concentrate on encouraging more young people to attain higher levels of formal education may miss important points. To address the question of how to promote essential life skills researchers and policymakers need to understand better what activities and experiences constitute valuable learning opportunities within as well as outside school and how different activities interact in producing academic and nonacademic skills. In this project we seek to advance the understanding of how skills develop from childhood through young adulthood combining economic and behavioral perspectives. We focus on social, executive function and character skills that are presumably highly susceptible to experiences and interventions during these ages and that are related with educational attainment and labor market performance. In addition, we investigate how academic and nonacademic skills influence economic outcomes along the entire distribution. Such knowledge is important in order to understand better what skills enable people to participate in society on the one hand and on the other hand what skills explain above average performance.

Prof. Dr. Aderonke Osikominu (University of Hohenheim)

Stephanie Briel (University of Hohenheim)
Benjamin Fuchs (University of Hohenheim)