Scientific Education and Innovation: From Technical Diplomas to University STEM Degrees

Nicola Bianchi and Michela Giorcelli

No 25928, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper studies the effects of university STEM education on innovation and labor market outcomes by exploiting a change in enrollment requirements in Italian STEM majors. University-level scientific education had two direct effects on the development of patents by students who had acquired a STEM degree. First, the policy changed the direction of their innovation. Second, it allowed these individuals to reach top positions within firms and be more involved in the innovation process. STEM degrees, however, also changed occupational sorting. Some higher-achieving individuals used STEM degrees to enter jobs that required university-level education, but did not focus on patenting.

JEL-codes: I21 I25 I26 I28 J24 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-eur, nep-ino and nep-lma
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

Published as Nicola Bianchi & Michela Giorcelli, 2020. "Scientific Education and Innovation: From Technical Diplomas to University Stem Degrees," Journal of the European Economic Association, vol 18(5), pages 2608-2646.

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Journal Article: Scientific Education and Innovation: From Technical Diplomas to University Stem Degrees (2020)
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