Gender Inequalities and Scarring Effects in School to Work Transitions
Abstract
This thesis investigates issues related to gender inequalities and scarring effects in
school to work transitions.
The first chapter analyses the gender earnings gap among Italian college graduates at
the beginning of their careers. Thanks to the richness of the dataset used I am able
to control for a large set of variables related to individuals' educational and family
background, as well as personality traits. The main finding is that the content of
the college degree course is the most signicant variable in explaining the earnings
gender differentials of young workers. In particular I show that female sorting in
college majors characterised by a low maths content explains between 13 and 16% of
the earnings gender gap.
Motivated by this result, in Chapter 2 I investigate the determinants of gender gaps
in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduation rates, with
an emphasis on family, cultural and school influences. I show that half of the gap is
attributed to the gender difference in maths and science content of the high school
curriculum. The results indicate that in Italy the issue of the gender gap in STEM
graduation has its roots in a gendered choice that originates many years before.
The final chapter analyses the extent to which the mismatch of demand and supply
of skills that young workers face when they enter the labour market upon completing
education affects their careers. Regression results show that there is a long lasting
negative effect of these initial conditions on labour market outcomes. The evidence
is suggestive of a `trickle down unemployment' phenomenon, namely that high-skill
workers try to escape strong competition from their high-skill peers by taking jobs for
which a lower level of education is required, moving down the occupational ladder.
Authors
Granato, SilviaCollections
- Theses [4143]