A bibliometric analysis of the vocational education and training (VET) literature

Authors

  • Maria Karantali
  • Theodore Panagiotidis University of Macedonia, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.14.1.2025.35-50

Keywords:

Vocational education, human capital, labor market outcomes, skill formation, bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The literature on Vocational Education and Training (VET) spans over six decades. This review conducts a bibliometric analysis of 447 Scopus-indexed documents from 1965 to 2023. It is the first to analyze VET-related literature published in ABS-listed journals within the field of economics. Our findings highlight significant publication growth since 2014 and identify four primary research clusters: “vocational education and skill formation,” “vocational training and labor market outcomes,” “human capital and economic growth,” and “apprenticeship contracts and training costs.” Based on the current knowledge structure, we suggest directions for future research.

References

Aakvik, A. (2001). Bounding a Matching Estimator: The Case of a Norwegian Training Program. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 63(1), 115–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0084.00211

Abramo, G., & Oxley, L. (2021). Scientometric‐based analysis in business and economics: Introduction, examples, and guidelines. Journal of Economic Surveys, 35(5), 1261–1270. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12476

Acemoglu, D., & Pischke, J. S. (1998). Why do firms train? Theory and evidence. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 113(1), 79–119. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355398555531

Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007

Attanasio, O., GuarÍn, A., Medina, C., & Meghir, C. (2017). Vocational Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Colombia: A Long-Term Follow-Up. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9(2), 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20150554

Attanasio, O., Kugler, A., & Meghir, C. (2011). Subsidizing Vocational Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Trial. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(3), 188–220. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.3.3.188

Baethge, M., & Wolter, A. (2015). The German skill formation model in transition: From dual system of VET to higher education? Journal for Labour Market Research, 48(2), 97–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12651-015-0181-x

Bandiera, O., Buehren, N., Burgess, R., Goldstein, M., Gulesci, S., Rasul, I., & Sulaiman, M. (2020). Women’s Empowerment in Action: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial in Africa. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12(1), 210–259. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20170416

Bishop, J. H., & Mane, F. (2004). The impacts of career-technical education on high school labor market success. Economics of Education Review, 23(4), 381–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2004.04.001

Blattman, C., Fiala, N., Berlin, D., & Martinez, S. (2014). Generating skilled self-employment in developing countries: Experimental evidence from Uganda. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(2), 697–752.

Brunello, G., & Rocco, L. (2017). The Labor Market Effects of Academic and Vocational Education over the Life Cycle: Evidence Based on a British Cohort. Journal of Human Capital, 11(1), 106–166. https://doi.org/10.1086/690234

Caicedo, S., Espinosa, M., & Seibold, A. (2022). Unwilling to Train?—Firm Responses to the Colombian Apprenticeship Regulation. Econometrica, 90(2), 507–550. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA18911

Cappellari, L., Dell’Aringa, C., & Leonardi, M. (2012). Temporary employment, job flows and productivity: A tale of two reforms. The Economic Journal, 122(562), F188–F215.

Carling, K., & Richardson, K. (2004). The relative efficiency of labor market programs: Swedish experience from the 1990s. Labour Economics, 11(3), 335–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2003.09.002

Cavaglia, C., Machin, S., McNally, S., & Ruiz-Valenzuela, J. (2020). Gender, achievement, and subject choice in English education. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 36(4), 816–835. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/graa050

Cobo, M. J., López-Herrera, A. G., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2011). An approach for detecting, quantifying, and visualizing the evolution of a research field: A practical application to the Fuzzy Sets Theory field. Journal of Informetrics, 5(1), 146–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2010.10.002

Correa, H. (1965). Optimum choice between general and vocational education. Kyklos, 18(1), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.1965.tb02473.x

Dauth, W., Findeisen, S., Suedekum, J., & Woessner, N. (2021). The Adjustment of Labor Markets to Robots. Journal of the European Economic Association, 19(6), 3104–3153. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvab012

Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070

Dustmann, C., & Schönberg, U. (2009). Training and Union Wages. Review of Economics and Statistics, 91(2), 363–376.

Eggenberger, C., Rinawi, M., & Backes-Gellner, U. (2018). Occupational specificity: A new measurement based on training curricula and its effect on labor market outcomes. Labour Economics, 51, 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2017.11.010

Emerson, P. M., & Souza, A. P. (2003). Is There a Child Labor Trap? Intergenerational Persistence of Child Labor in Brazil. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 51(2), 375–398. https://doi.org/10.1086/346003

Epstein, S. R. (1998). Craft Guilds, Apprenticeship, and Technological Change in Preindustrial Europe. The Journal of Economic History, 58(3), 684–713.

Fortwengel, J., & Jackson, G. (2016). Legitimizing the apprenticeship practice in a distant environment: Institutional entrepreneurship through inter-organizational networks. Journal of World Business, 51(6), 895–909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.05.002

Gnocato, N., Modena, F., & Tomasi, C. (2020). Labor market reforms and allocative efficiency in Italy. Labour Economics, 67, 101938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101938

Golsteyn, B. H. H., & Stenberg, A. (2017). Earnings over the Life Course: General versus Vocational Education. Journal of Human Capital, 11(2), 167–212.

Hall, C. (2012). The Effects of Reducing Tracking in Upper Secondary School. Journal of Human Resources, 47(1), 237–269.

Hampf, F., & Woessmann, L. (2017). Vocational vs. General Education and Employment over the Life Cycle: New Evidence from PIAAC. CESifo Economic Studies. https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifx012

Hanushek, E. A., Schwerdt, G., Woessmann, L., & Zhang, L. (2017). General education, vocational education, and labor-market outcomes over the lifecycle. Journal of Human Resources, 52(1), 48–87. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.52.1.0415-7074R

Keep, E., & Mayhew, K. (1999). The assessment: Knowledge, skills, and competitiveness. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 15(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/15.1.1

Krueger, D., & Kumar, K. B. (2004). Skill-Specific rather than General Education: A Reason for US–Europe Growth Differences? Journal of Economic Growth, 9(2), 167–207. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEG.0000031426.09886.bd

Maitra, P., & Mani, S. (2017). Learning and Earning: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in India. Labour Economics, 45, 116–130.

Malcomson, J. M., Maw, J. W., & McCormick, B. (2003). General training by firms, apprentice contracts, and public policy. European Economic Review, 47(2), 197–227.

Mavromaras, K., & McGuinness, S. (2012). Overskilling dynamics and education pathways. Economics of Education Review, 31(5), 619–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.02.006

Meer, J. (2007). Evidence on the returns to secondary vocational education. Economics of Education Review, 26(5), 559–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2006.04.002

Mohrenweiser, J., & Zwick, T. (2009). Why do firms train apprentices? The net cost puzzle reconsidered. Labour Economics, 16(6), 631–637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2009.08.004

Mongeon, P., & Paul-Hus, A. (2016). The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics, 106(1), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1765-5

Muehlemann, S., Pfeifer, H., Walden, G., Wenzelmann, F., & Wolter, S. C. (2010). The financing of apprenticeship training in the light of labor market regulations. Labour Economics, 17(5), 799–809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2010.04.006

Oswald-Egg, M. E., & Renold, U. (2021). No experience, no employment: The effect of vocational education and training work experience on labour market outcomes after higher education. Economics of Education Review, 80, 102065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.102065

Prais, S. J., & Wagner, K. (1985). Schooling standards in England and Germany: Some summary comparisons bearing on economic performance. National Institute Economic Review, 112, 53–76.

Ryan, P. (2001). The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(1), 34–92. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.1.34

Ryan, P., & Unwin, L. (2001). Apprenticeship in the British ‘training market. National Institute Economic Review, 178, 99–114.

Siddiqui, A., & Rehman, A. U. (2017). The human capital and economic growth nexus: In East and South Asia. Applied Economics, 49(28), 2697–2710.

Steedman, H. (1993). The Economics of Youth Training in Germany. The Economic Journal, 103(420), 1279. https://doi.org/10.2307/2234254

Sun, X., Shen, Y., & Li, G. (2024). Sovereign debt and sovereign risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Applied Economics, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2024.2339189

Taylor, P., & Urwin, P. (2001). Age and Participation in Vocational Education and Training. Work, Employment and Society, 15(4), 763–779.

Wallis, P. (2008). Apprenticeship and Training in Premodern England. The Journal of Economic History, 68(3), 832–861. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002205070800065X

Wiemann, J., & Fuchs, M. (2018). The export of Germany’s “secret of success” dual technical VET: MNCs and multiscalar stakeholders changing the skill formation system in Mexico. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 11(2), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsy008

Wolter, S. C., Schweri, J., & Mühlemann, S. (2006). Why Some Firms Train Apprentices and Many Others Do Not. German Economic Review, 7(3), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0475.2006.00155.x

Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric Methods in Management and Organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629

Downloads

Published

01-04-2025

How to Cite

Karantali, M., & Panagiotidis, T. (2025). A bibliometric analysis of the vocational education and training (VET) literature. Economics and Business Letters, 14(1), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.14.1.2025.35-50

Issue

Section

Special Section