In this paper we apply quantile regressions to investigate the evolution of Educational Wage Premia (EWP) in Italy from 1993 to 2004. Using SHIW data (Bank of Italy) and different classifications for educational attainments, we show that EWP have generally decreased over time across the wage distribution. In particular, the falling of EWP in the private sector is striking, considering both continuous and categorical specifications for education, at all quantiles of the distribution. Different patterns are observed in the public sector, where EWP remain basically stable over time. A number of robustness checks and various econometric specifications are also applied in order to address sample selection issues. Our findings also provide additional evidence in favour of the thesis that the increasing patterns in inequality and EWP, and the related interpretations concerning skill-biased changes, are much less pronounced in continental Europe than in Anglo Saxon countries.
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