94 research outputs found
THE DETERMINANTS OF COSTS AND EFFICIENCIES WHERE PRODUCERS ARE HETEROGENEOUS: THE CASE OF SPANISH UNIVERSITIES
A multi-product cost function is evaluated for the universities of Spain, using a random parameters stochastic frontier model. This allows estimates of systematic cost differences to be obtained alongside estimates of universities' efficiency. In addition, we evaluate average incremental costs of key university output, and provide measures of economies of scale and scope.
The Reform of Curricula in the Spanish University System: How Well Matched Are New Bachelor’s Degrees to Jobs
This study looks at how well bachelor’s degree holders in Spain match into jobs five years
after graduation. Based on workers’ self-assessment, education–job mismatch is defined as the
discrepancy between the formal qualifications that individuals earned at Spanish universities and
those that are required by jobs. By estimating a multinomial logit model, this research identifies fields
of study that are associated with increased likelihood of a particular educational mismatch status.
Results indicate that university graduates from highly specialized bachelor’s degree programs are
more likely to work in a graduate job that is related to their field of education. In particular, graduates
with degrees that entail specific human capital, such as health sciences degrees and hard science and
engineering degrees, are more likely to be well-matched in their current jobs. In contrast, the results
show a higher likelihood of over-qualification (recent graduates who are in non-graduate jobs) for
social and legal sciences degrees and arts and humanities degrees. Gender appears to play no role in
the matching process; however, the subject-specific knowledge that graduates have gained from their
time in higher education is important. As a novelty, this study also identifies, for a sub-sample of
workers, the process through which a good match is achieved—that is, how individuals self-select
to accept jobs in which they can achieve a good match. The regression results are based on micro
data from a nationally representative random sample of the first cohort of undergraduates after the
Bologna curriculum reform
Mapping the (mis)match of university degrees in the graduate labor market
The author thanks the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable
comments on a previous version of this manuscriptThis paper contributes to the scarce literature on the topic of horizontal education-job mismatch in the labor market for graduates of universities. Field-of-study mismatch or horizontal mismatch occurs when university graduates, trained in a particular field, work in another field at their formal qualification level. The data used in the analysis come from the first nationally representative survey of labor insertion of recent university graduates in Spain. By estimating a multinomial logistic regression, we are able to identify the match status 4 years after graduation based on self-assessments. We find a higher likelihood of horizontal mismatch among graduates of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Pharmacy, and Languages and Literature. Only graduates in Medicine increase the probability of being adequately matched in their jobs. It may be hypothesized that horizontal mismatch is more likely among those graduates in degree fields that provide more general skills and less likely among those from degree fields providing more occupation-specific skills. Other degrees such as Business Studies, and Management and Economics Studies increase the probability of being vertically mismatched (over-educated). Vertical mismatch preserves at least some of the specific human capital gained through formal educational qualifications. However, some workers with degrees in Labor Relations and Social Work are in non-graduate positions and study areas unrelated to their studies. The paper also shows that graduates in the fields of health sciences and engineering/architecture increase the probability of achieving an education-job match after external job mobility
Panel Data Models for School Evaluation: The Case of High Schools’ Results in University Entrance Examinations
To what extent do high school students’ course grades align with their scores on standardized
college admission tests? People sometimes make the argument that grades are “inflated”,
but many school districts only use outcome-based descriptive methods for school evaluation. In
order to answer that question, this paper proposes econometric models for panel data, which are
less well-known in educational evaluation. In particular, fixed-effects and random-effects models
are proposed for assessing student performance in university entrance examinations. School-level
panel data analysis allows one knowing if results in college admission tests vary more between
high schools than within a high school in different academic years. Another advantage of using
panel data includes the ability to control for school-specific unobserved heterogeneity. For empirical
implementation, official transcript data and university entrance test scores of Spanish secondary
schools are used
Nonparametric efficiency measurement of undergraduate teaching by university size
Conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) models assume that all decisionmaking
units (DMUs) are homogenous. While higher education institutions (HEIs)
of very different sizes challenge the homogeneity of DMUs, DEA studies have paid
relatively little attention to university size when assessing the performance of HEIs.
This article proposes novel, effective methods for evaluating university performance
and identifying useful benchmarks for improving the operations of inefficient performers.
Specifically, DEA and cluster analysis (CA) are applied for the evaluation
of the performance of traditional Spanish public universities. DEA is utilized to
examine the relative performance of these universities in terms of undergraduate
teaching output. CA is applied to find similar-in-scale universities prior to the DEA
to facilitate peer-groupings. The advantage of this method is that when DMUs are
clustered based on their size, one can obtain homogenous groups of units with comparable
operating environments. Furthermore, using the meta-frontier framework,
this research finds significant evidence that there is an efficiency advantage for
medium- and large-sized universities over small ones in providing undergraduate
teaching. A bootstrapped, non-parametric meta-frontier approach also verifies this
latter result. Some of the factors that contribute to the differences in the relative
efficiencies are identified as well.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBU
Causal Effects of Financial Education Intervention Aimed at University Students on Financial Knowledge and Financial Self-Efficacy
Based on a randomized controlled experiment among final-year undergraduate students,
we provide an assessment of the treatment effects of financial education intervention focused on
debt-financed graduate education decision-making. Specifically, this study finds positive treatment
effects on both college seniors’ objective financial knowledge and subjective financial knowledge
and self-confidence (i.e., perceived financial self-efficacy). Individual financial well-being is thought
to be enhanced by improved financial knowledge test scores and perceived financial self-efficacy.
In addition, we carry out a causal mediation analysis to investigate the extent to which objective
financial knowledge plays a mediating role in the effect of financial education treatment on the
intervention outcome (perceived financial self-efficacy). The mediation proportion, the proportion of
treatment effect on outcome explained by the intermediate variable of financial knowledge, is around
21%, which is important. Thus, policies that aim to improve financial capabilities among college
students through financial education programs should be aware that financial literacy is a significant
antecedent of (a prerequisite for) financial self-efficacy.FUNCASEDUCA Program EF021/201
Rendimientos privados de las inversiones en educación superior a partir de ecuaciones de ingresos
A pesar de su amplio uso en los trabajos aplicados sobre rendimientos de la educación, este artículo demuestra que la «función minceriana estándar» no arroja una medida exacta del valor económico de la Educación Superior si ésta es una variable endógena. El problema de la endogeneidad de la educación se ha corregido a través de la técnica de variables instrumentales. Nosotros obtenemos una rentabilidad del 13,6 por 100 para los estudios universitarios; alternativamente, observamos que los licenciados ganan un 57 por 100 más que los diplomados. No obstante, y tras usar el método bietápico de Heckman, no se detecta sesgo de selección muestral.: rendimientos de la educación, variables instrumentales, método bietápico de Heckman, demanda educativa
More than just good grades: candidates’ perceptions about the skills and attributes employers seek in new graduates
There is a common belief among university students that they have to study hard attempting to earn high grades because employers are targeting graduates with outstanding academic records. However, this idea does not seem to capture what is actually happening in organizations, as firms value more aspects related with personality and other personal qualities of young graduates. We present a case study of the hiring process of recent university graduates to test these hypotheses. The methodology used follows a two stage approach. Principal component analysis allows us to identify first key categories of skills and attributes that influence the selection process. Then, using econometric analysis, a matrix classifies them according to employer size and type, degree, position and industry. The results show that soft skills (personality and other qualities) are the most required attributes in the selection process. Good academic records only matter in the public sector
How happy are young economists in their jobs?
This paper investigates issues of job satisfaction and competencies among economists. For this purpose, we use a data set gathered in 2006 at the University of Seville. Ordered logit analysis is used to analyze the determinants of an economist’s overall satisfaction at work. The results demonstrate that competency mismatches matter for reported overall job satisfaction
Los factores determinantes del emparejamiento educación-empleo: Evidencia a partir de una nueva muestra de economistas
Esta comunicación utiliza datos primarios para analizar los determinantes del (des)ajuste educativo de una cohorte de jóvenes economistas formados en la Universidad de Sevilla.
Metodológicamente estima un modelo logit multinomial, en el que las categorías son el buen emparejamiento, la sobrecualificación, la infracualificación y el mal emparejamiento. Dejando de lado
las características del empleo, nuestros resultados confirman que existe un efecto diferencial por sexo en el desajuste educativo y que además la nota media y el tiempo de búsqueda de empleo afectan a la clasificación de los egresados en las diferentes categorías
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