From college to labor market: a transition indicator for Italian universities

Massimiliano Agovino and Francesco Busato ()
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Francesco Busato: University of Naples Parthenope

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2017, vol. 51, issue 6, No 11, 2577-2604

Abstract: Abstract Following ILO guidelines (ILO school-to-work transition survey: a methodological guide, International Labor Office, Geneva, 2009), this paper constructs an original transition indicator from college to the labor market for selected Italian universities based on the method of penalty coefficient of variation (or Mazziotta–Pareto Index). The methodology offers the opportunity to build a single transition measure, capable to take into account the idiosyncratic (e.g., region specific) characteristics of the labor market. The analysis focuses on universities in Campania (one of the most economically important Southern Italy regions), being part of a recently completed (fall 2015) statistical project designed to study labor market dynamics and university performance. This is relevant since our sample can be considered a proxy for Southern Italy, and probably for Southern European regions, for the duality of the labor market, the presence of a large underground sector, the characteristics of labor demand side (small firms, operating into manufacturing). The paper shows that these universities rank just below the average value of the transition indicator. We identify two main reasons: (i) the lack of contractual instruments that allow adequate work and training experience that should have been acquired during the college years; (ii) the relatively low labor demand for highly educated workers due to the production structure concentrated on traditional manufacturing sectors (and by this end, characterized by intensive use of unskilled labor). Eventually, selected policy issues are discussed.

Keywords: Higher education; Labor market; Government policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 I28 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-016-0410-6

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