Abstract
This paper investigates the determinants of the transition from higher education to work across Europe using various specifications of duration models and a one-time multi-country survey of university graduates from nine European countries. Results point to differences between the North and South of Europe in the difficulty of getting a first job. They confirm that individual characteristics such as the field/level of studies or the socioeconomic background, and individual job search bear a significant relationship to the probability of finding a job. Evidence of unobserved heterogeneity is also found.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arrow K.J., (1973). Higher education as a filter Journal of Public Economics 2: 193–216
Betts, J., Ferrall, C. and Finnie, R. (2000). ‘The transition to work for Canadian university graduates: time to first job, 1982–1990’, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch – Research Paper Series No. 141
Biggeri L., Bini M., Grilli L., (2001). The transition from university to work: a multilevel approach to the analysis of time to obtain the first job Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series A) 164: 293–305
Canals V., Diebolt C., (2002). France In Ehlert H., Cordier H., (eds), The Transition from Higher Education to the Labour Market. International Perspectives and Challenges Peter Lang Frankfurt am Main pp. 13–54
Chuang H.-L., (1997). Estimating a structural search model for College graduates in Taiwan Asian Economic Journal 11: 95–110
Chuang H.-L., (1999). Estimating the determinants of the unemployment duration for College graduates in Taiwan Applied Economics Letters 6: 677–681
Clark A., Oswald A., (1994). Unhappiness and unemployment Economic Journal 104: 648–659
Clark A.E., Georgellis Y., Sanfey P., (2001). Scarring: the psychological impact of past unemployment Economica 68: 221–241
Cleves M.A., Gould W.W., Gutierrez R.G., (2002). An Introduction to Survival Analysis Using Stata Stata Press Texas
Corrales, H. and Rodríguez, B. (2004). ‘Transition from education to first significant job in Spain: the influence of educational attainment’, The 58th International Atlantic Economic Conference. Chicago, Illinois, 7–10 October 2004
Cox D.R., (1972). Regression models and life-tables Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series B) 34: 187–220
De Grip, A. (2004). ‘Evaluating human capital obsolescence’, Paper prepared for the joint EC-OECD Seminar on Human Capital and Labour Market Performance, held in Brussels on December 8, 2004 (mimeo)
Finnie R., (2000). From school to work: the evolution of early labour market outcomes of Canadian postsecondary graduates Canadian Public Policy – Analyse de Politiques 26: 197–224
Finnie R., (2004). The school-to-work transition of Canadian post-secondary graduates: a dynamic analysis Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 26: 35–58
Greene W.H., (2003). Econometric Analysis. (5th edition) Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Gregg P., Wadsworth J., (1996). How effective are state employment agencies? Jobcentre use and job matching in Britain Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 58: 443–467
Gutierrez R.G., (2002). Parametric frailty and shared frailty survival models Stata Journal 2: 22–44
Holzer H.J., (1988). Search method use by unemployed youth Journal of Labor Economics 6: 1–20
Jensen P., Westergård-Nielsen N.C., (1987). A search model applied to the transition from education to work Review of Economic Studies 54: 461–472
Jones S.R.G., (1989). Job search methods, intensity and effects Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 51: 277–296
Kennan J.F., (1985). The duration of contract strikes in U.S. manufacturing Journal of Econometrics 28: 5–28
Lancaster T., (1972). A stochastic model for the duration of a strike Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 135: 257–271
Lancaster T., (1990). The Econometric Analysis of Transition Data Cambridge University Press Cambridge
Lassibille G., Navarro L., Aguilar I., Sánchez C., (2001). Youth transition from school to work in Spain Economics of Education Review 20: 139–149
McCall J.J., (1970). Economics of information and job search Quarterly Journal of Economics 84: 113–126
Mora J.G., García-Montalvo J., García-Aracil A., (2000). Higher education and graduate employment in Spain European Journal of Education 35: 229–237
Mortensen D.T., (1970). Job search, duration of unemployment and the Phillips curve American Economic Review 60: 847–862
Mroz T.A., Savage T.H., (2001). The Long-Term Effects of Youth Unemployment The Employment Policies Institute Washington, D.C
Müller W., Gangl M., (eds) (2003). Transitions from Education to Work in Europe. The Integration of Youth into EU Labour Markets Oxford University Press Oxford
Murdoch J., (2002). The heterogeneity of new entrants and the selectivity of higher education institutions: some results using data from the CHEERS project Higher Education 44: 379–392
Newman J.L., McCullough C.E., (1984). A hazard rate approach to the timing of births Econometrica 52: 939–961
Nguyen, A.N. and Taylor, J. (2005). ‘From school to first job: a longitudinal analysis’, Lancaster University Management School, Working Paper No. 15
OECD (1999). Preparing Youth for the 21st Century: The Transition from Education to the Labour Market OECD Paris
OECD(2000a). From Initial Education to Working Life: Making Transitions Work OECD Paris
OECD(2000b). Education at a Glance 2000Edition. OECD Paris
OECD (2005). Education at a Glance 2005Edition. OECD Paris
Pakes A. (1986). Patents as options: some estimates of the value of holding European patent stocksEconometrica 54: 755–784
Riley J.G., (1979). Testing the educational screening hypothesis Journal of Political Economy 87: S227–S252
Rust J., (1987). Optimal replacement of GMC bus engines: an empirical analysis of Harold Zurcher Econometrica 55: 999–1035
Schenell J., Gramm C., (1987). Learning by striking: estimates of the teetotaler effect Journal of Labor Economics 5: 221–241
Schmitt J., Wadsworth J., (1993). Unemployment benefit levels and search activity Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 55: 1–24
Spence M., (1973). Job market signaling Quarterly Journal of Economics 87: 355–374
Stigler G.J., (1962). Information in the labor market Journal of Political Economy 70: 94–105
Teichler U., (2002). Graduate employment and work in Europe: diverse situations and common perceptions Tertiary Education and Management 8: 199–216
Van der Klaauw, B., Van Vuureny, A. and Berkhout, P. (2005). ‘Labor market prospects, search intensity and the transition from college to work’, IFAU – Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation, Working Paper No. 9
Wadsworth J., (1991). Unemployment benefits and search effort in the UK labour market Economica 58: 17–34
Warner J.T., Poindexter J.C., Fearn R.M., (1980). Employer–employee interaction and the duration of unemployment Quarterly Journal of Economics 94: 211–233
Wolpin K.I., (1984). An estimable dynamic stochastic model of fertility and child mortality Journal of Political Economy 92: 852–874
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Salas-Velasco, M. The transition from higher education to employment in Europe: the analysis of the time to obtain the first job. High Educ 54, 333–360 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-006-9000-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-006-9000-1