Worker mobility, employer-provided general training, and the choice of graduate education

This paper links inherent mobility to observed schooling choices. A job search model with graduate education predicts that more mobile workers are more likely to enroll in full-time MBA programs. Adding to the literature on employer-sponsored general training, the model predicts that employers are likely to provide tuition assistance to workers who find quits costly. I use a panel survey of GMAT registrants to test some of the empirical implications of the model. I show that observable measures of job attachment are correlated with the probability of attending part-time and, conditional on part-time attendance, with the likelihood of receiving tuition reimbursement.

► The predictions are tested empirically using a panel survey of GMAT registrants. ► I study employer-provided tuition reimbursement and worker mobility. ► I model the choice between part-time and full-time MBA programs using search theory. ► Less mobile workers are likely to enroll part-time and receive tuition reimbursement.