Subsidised training and youth employment: Distinguishing unobserved heterogeneity from state dependence in labour market histories

Using the 1990-2 wave of the French Labour Force Survey to study the employment histories of young people I consider transitions between six labour market states: employment contracts whether permanent or temporary, unemployment, training, education and non-participation. I use a fixed effect estimator in a dynamic multinomial logit model which can accommodate any form of unobserved heterogeneity in levels. This analysis can be extended to Markov processes of any order. I relate heterogeneity components to individual and family characteristics by using simulated maximum likelihood methods. These procedures allow evaluation of the effects training schemes have on youth employment histories.