IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/69907.html

What do you want to be when you grow up? Local institutional quality and the choice of the fields of study in Italy (2004-2007)

Author

Listed:
  • Nifo, Annamaria
  • Scalera, Domenico
  • Vecchione, Gaetano

Abstract

Students’ choices about post-secondary fields of study vary widely across space and time, due to many psychological, social and economic motivations. Regarding these latter, the most important role in steering students’ options has been often ascribed to expected returns from different occupations. This paper emphasizes in particular the link between local institutional quality, the reward structure and students’ preferences. Based on a sample of 80,996 students graduated in Italy in 2004 and 2007, our econometric investigation, controlling for both individual characteristics (gender, residence, family background, high school track) and geographical variables (per capita GDP, industrial specialization), finds that in the choice of the field of study institutional quality definitely matters.

Suggested Citation

  • Nifo, Annamaria & Scalera, Domenico & Vecchione, Gaetano, 2016. "What do you want to be when you grow up? Local institutional quality and the choice of the fields of study in Italy (2004-2007)," MPRA Paper 69907, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:69907
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/69907/1/MPRA_paper_69907.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stijn Broecke, 2015. "University rankings: do they matter in the UK?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 137-161, April.
    2. Nathan Nunn, 2007. "Relationship-Specificity, Incomplete Contracts, and the Pattern of Trade," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 569-600.
    3. Domenico Cersosimo & Gianfranco Viesti, 2013. "High Tech and Mezzogiorno: Industrial Development and Public Policies," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 1, March.
    4. Boeri, Tito & Patacchini, Eleonora & Peri, Giovanni (ed.), 2015. "Unexplored Dimensions of Discrimination," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198729853.
    5. Terry Long, B.Bridget, 2004. "How have college decisions changed over time? An application of the conditional logistic choice model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 271-296.
    6. Boudarbat, Brahim, 2008. "Field of study choice by community college students in Canada," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 79-93, February.
    7. Magee,Stephen P. & Brock,William A. & Young,Leslie, 1989. "Black Hole Tariffs and Endogenous Policy Theory," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521377003, January.
    8. Christian Dustmann, 2004. "Parental background, secondary school track choice, and wages," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(2), pages 209-230, April.
    9. Claudia Goldin, 2006. "The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women's Employment, Education, and Family," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 1-21, May.
    10. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1991. "The Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 503-530.
    11. Magali Beffy & Denis Fougère & Arnaud Maurel, 2012. "Choosing the Field of Study in Postsecondary Education: Do Expected Earnings Matter?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 334-347, February.
    12. Pual Pecorino, 1992. "Rent Seeking and Growth: The Case of Growth through Human Capital Accumulation," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 25(4), pages 944-956, November.
    13. Robert D. Tollison, 1982. "Rent Seeking: A Survey," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 575-602, November.
    14. Robert Haveman & Barbara Wolfe, 1995. "The Determinants of Children's Attainments: A Review of Methods and Findings," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1829-1878, December.
    15. Annamaria Nifo & Gaetano Vecchione, 2014. "Do Institutions Play a Role in Skilled Migration? The Case of Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(10), pages 1628-1649, October.
    16. Hurwitz, Michael & Goodman, Joshua Samuel & Smith, Jonathan & Fox, Julia, 2015. "The relationship between siblings’ college choices: Evidence from one million SAT-taking families," Scholarly Articles 22805380, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    17. Hausman, Jerry & McFadden, Daniel, 1984. "Specification Tests for the Multinomial Logit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(5), pages 1219-1240, September.
    18. Hertz Tom & Jayasundera Tamara & Piraino Patrizio & Selcuk Sibel & Smith Nicole & Verashchagina Alina, 2008. "The Inheritance of Educational Inequality: International Comparisons and Fifty-Year Trends," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-48, January.
    19. Goldin, Claudia, 2006. "The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women’s Employment, Education, and Family," Scholarly Articles 2943933, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    20. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2006. "Is it the Law or the Lawyers? Investment Covenants around the World," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 12(4), pages 535-574, September.
    21. Maria K. Humlum & Kristin J. Kleinjans & Helena S. Nielsen, 2012. "An Economic Analysis Of Identity And Career Choice," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(1), pages 39-61, January.
    22. Doris Weichselbaumer & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer, 2005. "A Meta‐Analysis of the International Gender Wage Gap," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 479-511, July.
    23. Montmarquette, Claude & Cannings, Kathy & Mahseredjian, Sophie, 2002. "How do young people choose college majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 543-556, December.
    24. A. Colin Cameron & Pravin K. Trivedi, 2010. "Microeconometrics Using Stata, Revised Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LLC, number musr, March.
    25. Philip Keefer & Stephen Knack, 2007. "Boondoggles, Rent-Seeking, and Political Checks and Balances: Public Investment under Unaccountable Governments," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 566-572, August.
    26. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    27. repec:bla:ecopol:v:17:y:2005:i::p:37-75 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Corak,Miles (ed.), 2004. "Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521827607, January.
    29. Jack Fiorito & Robert C. Dauffenbach, 1982. "Market and Nonmarket Influences on Curriculum Choice by College Students," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(1), pages 88-101, October.
    30. Thomas Buser & Muriel Niederle & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2014. "Gender, Competitiveness, and Career Choices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(3), pages 1409-1447.
    31. Krueger, Anne O, 1974. "The Political Economy of the Rent-Seeking Society," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(3), pages 291-303, June.
    32. Miriam A. Golden & Lucio Picci, 2005. "Proposal For A New Measure Of Corruption, Illustrated With Italian Data," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 37-75, March.
    33. Mark C. Berger, 1988. "Predicted Future Earnings and Choice of College Major," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 41(3), pages 418-429, April.
    34. Pritchett, Lant, 2006. "Does Learning to Add up Add up? The Returns to Schooling in Aggregate Data," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 635-695, Elsevier.
    35. Matthew Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2015. "Determinants of College Major Choice: Identification using an Information Experiment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(2), pages 791-824.
    36. Mueller, Richard E. & Rockerbie, Duane, 2005. "Determining demand for university education in Ontario by type of student," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 469-483, August.
    37. Rosenbloom, Joshua L. & Ash, Ronald A. & Dupont, Brandon & Coder, LeAnne, 2008. "Why are there so few women in information technology? Assessing the role of personality in career choices," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 543-554, August.
    38. Mehlum, Halvor & Moene, Karl & Torvik, Ragnar, 2003. "Predator or prey?: Parasitic enterprises in economic development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 275-294, April.
    39. Miles Corak, 2006. "Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults? Lessons from a Cross-Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Dynamics of Inequality and Poverty, pages 143-188, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    40. Lars Kirkebøen & Edwin Leuven & Magne Mogstad, 2014. "Field of Study, Earnings, and Self-Selection," NBER Working Papers 20816, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    41. Michael Luca & Jonathan Smith, 2013. "Salience in Quality Disclosure: Evidence from the U.S. News College Rankings," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 58-77, March.
    42. Natkhov Timur & Polishchuk Leonid, 2012. "Institutions and the Allocation of Talent," HSE Working papers WP BRP 15/EC/2012, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    43. Hilmer, Michael J., 1998. "Post-secondary fees and the decision to attend a university or a community college," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 329-348, March.
    44. Goodman, Joshua & Hurwitz, Michael & Smith, Jonathan & Fox, Julia, 2015. "The relationship between siblings’ college choices: Evidence from one million SAT-taking families," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 75-85.
    45. Anh Ngoc Nguyen & Jim Taylor, 2003. "Post-high school choices: New evidence from a multinomial logit model," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(2), pages 287-306, May.
    46. Brahim Boudarbat & Claude Montmarquette, 2009. "Choice of fields of study of university Canadian graduates: the role of gender and their parents' education," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 185-213.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. O. Poldin & D. Valeeva & M. Yudkevich, 2015. "Choice of specialization: do peers matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(44), pages 4728-4740, September.
    2. Aderonke Osikominu & Volker Grossmann & Marius Osterfeld, 2020. "Sociocultural background and choice of STEM majors at university," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(2), pages 347-369.
    3. repec:ehu:ikerla:28186 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. A. Nifo & G. Vecchione, 2015. "Measuring Institutional Quality in Italy," Rivista economica del Mezzogiorno, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1-2, pages 157-182.
    5. Lekfuangfu, Warn N. & Odermatt, Reto, 2022. "All I have to do is dream? The role of aspirations in intergenerational mobility and well-being," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    6. Alaitz Artabe & Javier Gardeazabal, 2017. "Degree choice evidence from stated preferences," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1205-1234, June.
    7. Izaskun Zuazu, 2020. "Graduates’ Opium? Cultural Values, Religiosity and Gender Segregation by Field of Study," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-27, July.
    8. Zuazu-Bermejo, Izaskun, 2020. "Graduates’ opium? Cultural values, religiosity and gender segregation by field of study," OSF Preprints yn23j, Center for Open Science.
    9. Wayne A. Grove & Andrew Hussey, 2011. "Returns To Field Of Study Versus School Quality: Mba Selection On Observed And Unobserved Heterogeneity," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 730-749, July.
    10. Robert R. Carnes & Dane M. Christensen & Paul E. Madsen, 2023. "Externalities of Financial Statement Fraud on the Incoming Accounting Labor Force," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 61(5), pages 1531-1589, December.
    11. Alexeev, Michael & Natkhov, Timur & Polishchuk, Leonid, 2024. "Institutions, abilities, and the allocation of talent: Evidence from Russian regions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 271-296.
    12. Erica Blom & Brian C. Cadena & Benjamin J. Keys, 2021. "Investment over the Business Cycle: Insights from College Major Choice," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(4), pages 1043-1082.
    13. Matthew Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2021. "Human Capital Investments and Expectations about Career and Family," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(5), pages 1361-1424.
    14. Agostino, Mariarosaria & Nifo, Annamaria & Trivieri, Francesco & Vecchione, Gaetano, 2016. "Total factor productivity heterogeneity: channelling the impact of institutions," MPRA Paper 72759, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Arpita Patnaik & Matthew J. Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2020. "College Majors," NBER Working Papers 27645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Soham Sahoo & Stephan Klasen, 2018. "Gender Segregation in Education and Its Implications for Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from India," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 248, Courant Research Centre PEG.
    17. Estevan, Fernanda & Gall, Thomas & Morin, Louis-Philippe, 2025. "On the road to social mobility? Affirmative action and major choice," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    18. David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2015. "State Merit Aid Programs and College Major: A Focus on STEM," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(4), pages 973-1006.
    19. Ersoy, Fulya & Speer, Jamin D., 2025. "Opening the black box of college major choice: Evidence from an information intervention," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    20. Daniele Checchi & Luca Flabbi, 2013. "Intergenerational Mobility and Schooling Decisions in Germany and Italy: The Impact of Secondary School Tracks," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, issue 3, pages 7-57, July-Sept.
    21. Timur Natkhov & Leonid Polishchuk, 2019. "Quality of Institutions and the Allocation of Talent: Cross‐National Evidence," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 527-569, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:69907. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.