Abstract

<p>This paper analyses the evolution of the wage return to tertiary education in Spain,<br />distinguishing between advanced vocational training and university education. Using<br />microdata from the Spanish Structure of Earnings Survey, the study estimates wage equations<br />which, in addition to considering the human capital and the personal and employment<br />characteristics of individuals as causal factors, includes a measure of the excess labour supply<br />of university graduates by region. The results show that the wage differential of the graduate<br />population fell, in general, in the period 1995-2006, and that a relatively high supply of<br />graduates in the regional labour market negatively affects wages in such regions, and that<br />these effects increase over time.</p>

Highlights

  • Introduction and ObjectivesSpain has notably increased its human capital in recent decades, gradually reducing the weight of the population with only primary education and significantly increasing the proportion of the most highly educated

  • In addition to the abovementioned variables, the present study examines the regional influence on wage determination, focusing on the possible existence of an excess labour supply of university graduates in each region (Autonomous Community)

  • This paper has analysed the evolution of the wage returns to tertiary education in Spain, distinguishing between advanced vocational training and university education

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Summary

Introduction

Spain has notably increased its human capital in recent decades, gradually reducing the weight of the population with only primary education and significantly increasing the proportion of the most highly educated. It remains below the OECD average in terms of the average number of education years. The national structure of human capital displays important differences in comparison to other developed countries; the percentage of the population in Spain with only primary education is still very high (20 points above the OECD average), the weight of the population with secondary education is markedly lower (22 percent compared to 44), while the ratio of the population with tertiary education is higher (29 percent compared to 27). With regard to the weight of the population with tertiary education, the relative position of Spain improves significantly; the Basque Country, the Community of Madrid and Navarre occupy leading positions within the EU19, while only the Balearic Islands, Extremadura, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia and Andalusia are below the average

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