Giorgio Di Pietro

Education and skills mismatch in the Italian graduate labour market

This paper focuses on education and skills mismatch among Italian graduates. Indicators for over- and under-utilization of education and under-utilization of skills are included as explanatory factors in a wage equation, testing theories that could explain the effect of over-schooling on wages. We find little evidence to support assignment theory and also identify a relatively weak wage effect arising from educational mismatch associated with employers’, as opposed to employees’, perceptions of the job requirements. Our interpretation is that some employers have re-categorized jobs as requiring a degree, when they were previously filled by non-graduates, and many have not altered pay scales accordingly.

The determinants of university dropout in Italy: a bivariate probability model with sample selection

This study analyses the determinants of university dropouts in Italy using a bivariate probit model with sample selection. The empirical findings provide some support for the appropriateness of this technique and hence suggest that the estimates obtained from a univariate decision framework are likely to be inefficient.This study analyses the determinants of university dropouts in Italy using a bivariate probit model with sample selection. The empirical findings provide some support for the appropriateness of this technique and hence suggest that the estimates obtained from a univariate decision framework are likely to be inefficient.

Intergenerational mobility and occupational status in Italy

This study examines the intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status, using data from the 2000 wave of the Bank of Italys Survey on Household Income and Wealth: specifically, analysing the relationship between the occupational status of parents and their children. Reducing the extent to which an individuals economic or social success is shaped by the economic or social position of their parents has been on the agenda of the Italian government for a long time and is at the root of the Italian centralized and egalitarian system of education. However, our empirical results suggest that the achievements of children continue to be highly dependent on the social status of their parents, especially their fathers. Whilst Italys egalitarian education system may have removed some of the inequities in human capital accumulation arising from capital market imperfections, it would seem that additional measures are required to further facilitate intergenerational social mobility.

The Bologna Process and widening participation in university education: new evidence from Italy

This paper extends previous work on the effect of the Bologna reform on university enrolment in Italy. The analysis considers more recent data and also attempts to disentangle the effect of the reform from the influence on enrolment exerted by time-varying confounding factors. The empirical findings consistently show that the “Bologna Process” had a positive impact on university participation, though the magnitude of this impact is smaller than previously concluded. One main reason for our lower estimates lies in the use of a difference-in-differences methodology, which allows us to control for the influence on enrolment exerted by unobserved factors that could have changed coincidentally at the same time as the reform.

Do Study Abroad Programs Enhance the Employability of Graduates

Using data on a large sample of recent Italian graduates, this paper investigates the extent to which participation in study abroad programs during university studies impacts subsequent employment likelihood. To address the problem of endogeneity related to participation in study abroad programs, I use a combination of fixed effects and instrumental variable estimation where the instrumental variable is exposure to international student exchange schemes. My estimates show that studying abroad has a relatively large and statistically meaningful effect on the probability of being in employment three years after graduation. This effect is mainly driven by the impact that study abroad programs have on the employment prospects of graduates from disadvantaged (but not very disadvantaged) backgrounds, though positive but imprecise effects are also found for graduates from advantaged backgrounds.

Does Attending a Catholic School Make a Difference? Evidence From Italy

This paper analyses whether attending a Catholic high school in Italy yields higher benefits in student achievement compared with enrolment at a public school. Because a measure of the success of a given high school might be how its students perform after leaving high school, our attention is focused on university participation and the risk of university dropout. We find that attending a Catholic school increases the likelihood of enrolling at university but has no effect on dropout behaviour. Additionally, our findings show that the source of the effectiveness of Catholic schools in boosting university participation does not lie in better resource availability, peer group influences or positive selection.

Education and civic outcomes in Italy

This article attempts to identify the causal effects of education on multiple measures of civic engagement in Italy. The identification strategy is based on changes in education legislation that have exogenously affected the schooling decision. Our empirical analysis delivers two main results. First, the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates of the effects of education on some civic measures are likely to be biased. Second, the instrumental variables (IV) estimates suggest that the direction of this bias varies across measures of civic outcomes.

The connection between access to university and net social welfare expenditure in Southern Italy

This paper examines whether net social welfare expenditure did buttress participation rates in university education in the south of Italy between 1983 and 1996. This hypothesis is tested setting up an enrolment model in which net social welfare expenditure is included as one of the independent variables, using pooled regional data. Although unemployment rates among young individuals have been found to be the major determinant of enrolment rates, empirical results support the hypothesis according to which net social welfare expenditure did have a role in enhancing participation rates in university education in the south of Italy in the 1983-1996 period.

Degree classification and recent graduates’ ability: Is there any signalling effect?

Research across several countries has shown that degree classification (i.e. the final grade awarded to students successfully completing university) is an important determinant of graduates’ first destination outcome. Graduates leaving university with higher degree classifications have better employment opportunities and a higher likelihood of continuing education relative to those with lower degree classifications. This article investigates whether one of the reasons for this result is that employers and higher education institutions use degree classification as a signalling device for the ability that recent graduates may possess. Given the large number of applicants and the amount of time and resources typically required to assess their skills, employers and higher education institutions may decide to rely on this measure when forming beliefs about recent graduates’ abilities. Using data on two cohorts of recent graduates from a UK university, results suggest that an Upper Second degree classification may have a signalling role.Abstract Research across several countries has shown that degree classification (i.e. the final grade awarded to students successfully completing university) is an important determinant of graduates’ first destination outcome. Graduates leaving university with higher degree classifications have better employment opportunities and a higher likelihood of continuing education relative to those with lower degree classifications. This article investigates whether one of the reasons for this result is that employers and higher education institutions use degree classification as a signalling device for the ability that recent graduates may possess. Given the large number of applicants and the amount of time and resources typically required to assess their skills, employers and higher education institutions may decide to rely on this measure when forming beliefs about recent graduates’ abilities. Using data on two cohorts of recent graduates from a UK university, results suggest that an Upper Second degree classification may have a signalling role.

The academic impact of natural disasters: evidence from L’Aquila earthquake

ABSTRACT This paper uses a standard difference-in-differences approach to examine the effect of the L’Aquila earthquake on the academic performance of the students of the local university. The empirical results indicate that this natural disaster reduced students’ probability of graduating on-time and slightly increased students’ probability of dropping out. While post-disaster measures (e.g. fast re-establishment of education activities in temporary locations) are likely to have mitigated the effects of this event, disruptions in the learning environment and the mental trauma suffered by students in the aftermath of the earthquake may have worsened their academic performance.