The Impact of Product Market Competition on Training Provision: Evidence from Canada

Abstract

While standard models of training focus on how input market affects firms' training decisions, this paper investigates the impact of product market competition on training provision. Using the longitudinal data from Statistics Canada's Workplace and Employee Survey, we find that increased competition is strongly associated with more training provision. This association is unlikely to be driven by unobserved heterogeneity, specific measures used and other relevant factors. To the extent that training is a significant source of human capital and industry competitiveness, our results suggest that increasing training is an important channel through which competition raises productivity.