Acquiring Skills

This book, from the Centre for Economic Policy Research, provides a systematic account of the causes, consequences, and policy implications of market failure in training provision and skills acquisition in the industrial world. Traditional human capital theory implies that the free market provides adequate incentives to train. This volume calls this conventional wisdom into question, arguing that since the markets for training are generally beset by imperfect competition and imperfect information, people generally do not receive compensation for the training they acquire and provide.