Do business administration studies offer better preparation for supervisory jobs than traditional economics studies?

The question whether graduates of business administration (BA) are better prepared for supervisory jobs and have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory jobs than non-BA economics graduates, forms the central theme of the paper. In addition, special attention is given to the question whether having a supervisory job pays off, particularly with an educational background in BA. In order to answer these questions, we have used a data set that relates to the labour market position of graduates from Dutch universities at the early stages of their careers.We have found that BA graduates, despite their multidisciplinary education and the fact that they have fewer deficiencies in their education with respect to the ability for teamwork than non-BA graduates, do not have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory jobs than graduates from non-BA economics courses. We have also found that having a supervisory job pays off, regardless of the education (BA versus non-BA). Lastly, we have found that most of the skills required for managerial leadership are acquired through work and not in education. This suggests that a combination of working and learning may be more effective for developing managerial skills than a purely educational setting.Key words: business administration and non-business administration graduates, supervisory jobs, required competences, job chances, earnings.JEL classification: J 24, J 31, J 44.labour market entry and occupational careers;