Diamonds are Forever: Job-Matching and Career Success of Young Workers

Summary This study addresses the probability of young workers seeking for promotion after vocational training. By applying semi-parametric duration analysis with competing risks to a dataset of 17 youth rosters, each of them winner of either DFB-U19-Bundesliga or DFB-Youth-Cup between 1998/1999 and 2010/2011, the following paper tests some predictions that have emerged from Jovanovic’s (1979) matching theory. By running a youth academy a club assembles private information in order to decrease information deficits about a youth player’s performance. Findings from a database that covers 270 German youth players indicate that productivity, tenure and job seniority are key determinants for a successful debut with the home club. These results were not detected for potential debuts with an outside team after finishing youth engagement.