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Quality & Quantity
Published in: Quality & Quantity 6/2017

21-09-2016

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

Authors: Massimiliano Agovino, Francesco Busato

Published in: Quality & Quantity | Issue 6/2017

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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.
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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
The goal of the paper is to present and to simulate an indicator, not to perform a fully-fledged econometric analysis. The presented policy implications are derived in light of the individual components of the indicator. We leave to a future research a combined econometric and indicator based analysis.
 
2
This is not our choice, but it’s the actual structure of Italian University structure for Law Schools.
 
3
University “Suor Orsola Benincasa” and University of Naples L'Orientale are not in the sample, because they do not offer courses in economics, law and/or engineering.
 
5
The economically inactive are defined as people who are not in employment or unemployed. This is the definition we implement in our analysis.
 
6
Corresponding data are available on the AlmaLaurea monthly earnings of graduates.
 
7
The normalization of the indicators removes the unit of measurement and the variability effect.
 
8
The university reform is geared towards a less bureaucratic system and it aims to stimulate greater autonomy and competition among universities. The reform introduced two educational cycles: first degree (“ex laurea triennale”), and second degree (“laurea magistrale or specialistica”), which lasts two years. Moreover, for some courses single-cycle degree courses are planned.
 
9
Appendix lists universities involved in our analysis.
 
10
The null hypothesis is that both distributions are the same.
 
11
The null hypothesis is that the median of the differences is zero; no further assumptions are made about the distributions. This, in turn, is equivalent to the hypothesis that the true proportion of positive (negative) signs is one-half.
 
12
We omit the results of indices with LUR because they do not add any information. Interested readers are welcome to request these results from the authors.
 
13
It is defined as a student who has not passed all his/her exams within the prescribed period of time.
 
14
We do not add much comment because the conclusions are quite similar to ones obtained by other faculties.
 
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Metadata
Title
From college to labor market: a transition indicator for Italian universities
Authors
Massimiliano Agovino
Francesco Busato
Publication date
21-09-2016
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Quality & Quantity / Issue 6/2017
Print ISSN: 0033-5177
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7845
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0410-6

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