Abstract
The aim of this study is to analyse the differences in employability among Spanish graduates from public or private universities. Private and public universities do not usually have the same profile. In a scenario in which private universities are becoming increasingly important, with mainly high-income students, a greater employability of their graduates could change the higher education system and reduce the role of tertiary education in social mobility. To assess whether the outcomes of the two university models are different, we use Probit models and Inverse Probability Weighting Regression Adjustment to analyse the probability of being employed, suffering job mismatch, or having higher wages with micro-data from a representative sample of Spanish graduates. We do not find large differences in employability between graduates of public and private universities. The small differences we see concern, generally, degrees in Social Sciences and are related to job quality. There is also evidence that the socioeconomic background of the graduate has different effects on students from public and private universities. Graduates from private universities of more disadvantaged backgrounds have a certain advantage in terms of their employability.
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Data Availability
The datasets analysed during the current study are available at the Spanish National Statistics Institute web page: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176991&menu=resultados&idp=1254735976597#!tabs-1254736195339
Notes
In Spain, students must have passed a general university entrance examination to be admitted to a bachelor’s degree programme. Admission to public universities is determined by the grade obtained in this exam. Admission to private universities requires passing this exam, but unlike public universities, degrees in private universities do not have minimum entry grades.
According to the Ministry of Universities (Ministerio de Universidades, 2023) there are 6 public and 11 private universities in Madrid, 7 public and 5 private universities in Catalonia and 10 public and only 1 private university in Andalusia.
The microdata are available on the National Institute of Statistics website: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176991&menu=resultados&idp=1254735976597#!tabs-1254736195339.
See Sloczynski and Wooldridge (2018) for further details.
A detailed definition of the variables used in the analysis as well as their mean and standard deviation are provided in "Appendix”.
All models used to obtain the results in Table 4 are available upon request.
The same variables considered in the probit models have been included in the treatment and outcome equations. However, for identification, regional variables have only been included in the treatment equation.
The unemployment rate in the health sector is systematically lower than the overall unemployment rate. In 2014, the unemployment rate stood at 22.5% whilst it was no higher than 5.8% in healthcare. These figures were 14.1% against 4.7% in 2019.
The supply of Health studies at public universities meets less than 30% of the demand.
Year after year degrees in Health present the highest cut-off grades in entrance exams.
In Social Sciences, Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, Business Administration and Management, and Law are considered, which in 2019 represent 13.55%, 23.58%, 13.77% and 11.24% of the graduates in the field for private universities, and 8.45%, 10.74%, 13.69% and 12% for public universities. In Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture and Civil Engineering are considered, which represent 23.93%, 16.61% and 11.36% of the graduates of the field in the private sector, and 14.71%, 4.30% and 8.31% in the public sector. In Health Sciences, Psychology, Nursing and Physiotherapy are considered, which represent 16.82%, 30.92% and 10% of the graduates of the field for private universities, and 13.36%, 26.73% and 7.79% for public universities. Arts and Humanities Main-Private includes Design, Humanities, and Spanish Language, which in 2019 represent 58.7% of the graduates in Arts and Humanities for private universities and 13.96% for public universities. Science Main-Private includes in 2019, Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Environmental Sciences, and Marine Science, which represent 87.37% of the graduates in Science from private universities and 49% from public universities.
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Authors M.Arrazola and J. de Hevia has received financial support from Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (Grant: H2019/HUM-5761) and European Social Fund.
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Appendix: Variables and Descriptive Statistics
Appendix: Variables and Descriptive Statistics
Variable name | Description | SLIU-2014 | SLIU-2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | Standard deviation | Mean | Standard deviation | ||
Employability measures Dummy = 1 if the graduate | |||||
Employed | Has a job | 0.747 | 0.435 | 0.857 | 0.350 |
Vertical mismatch | Suffers vertical mismatch | 0.254 | 0.435 | 0.213 | 0.410 |
Horizontal mismatch | Suffers horizontal mismatch | 0.239 | 0.426 | 0.262 | 0.440 |
Wage+1500 | Earns more than1500€ net per month | n.a. | 0.519 | 0.500 | |
High quintiles | Has a high contribution basis (fourth/fifth quintile). | 0.401 | 0.490 | 0.400 | 0.490 |
Variables related to the university where the graduate studied. Dummy = 1 if the individual graduated from | |||||
Public | A public university | 0.860 | 0.347 | 0.852 | 0.355 |
Andalusia | A university of the region of Andalusia | 0.117 | 0.320 | 0.109 | 0.312 |
Aragon | A university of the region of Aragon | 0.042 | 0.201 | 0.045 | 0.208 |
Asturias | A university of the region of Asturias | 0.034 | 0.182 | 0.034 | 0.180 |
Balearic Islands | A Balearic Islands university | 0.021 | 0.144 | 0.023 | 0.149 |
Canary Islands | A Canary Islands university | 0.036 | 0.186 | 0.039 | 0.195 |
Cantabria | A university of the region of Cantabria | 0.019 | 0.137 | 0.019 | 0.137 |
Catalonia | A Catalan university | 0.111 | 0.315 | 0.110 | 0.312 |
Castilla y Leon | A university of the region of Castilla y Leon | 0.077 | 0.111 | 0.088 | 0.283 |
Castilla-La Mancha | A university of the region of Castilla-La Mancha | 0.030 | 0.169 | 0.034 | 0.182 |
Extremadura | A university of the region of Extremadura | 0.035 | 0.183 | 0.031 | 0.173 |
Galicia | A university of the region of Galicia | 0.063 | 0.242 | 0.055 | 0.228 |
La Rioja | A university of the region of La Rioja | 0.019 | 0.138 | ||
Madrid | A university of the region of Madrid (used as reference in our models) | 0.150 | 0.358 | 0.152 | 0.359 |
Murcia | A university of the region of Murcia | 0.049 | 0.216 | 0.044 | 0.206 |
Navarra | A university of the region of Navarra | 0.028 | 0.165 | 0.025 | 0.155 |
Basque Country | A Basque Country university | 0.058 | 0.233 | 0.051 | 0.221 |
Valencia | A university of the region of Valencia | 0.084 | 0.277 | 0.086 | 0.281 |
UNED | The National Distance-learning university | 0.032 | 0.177 | 0.034 | 0.182 |
Individual's characteristics. Dummy = 1 if the individual | |||||
Spanish | Is Spanish | 0.992 | 0.083 | 0.989 | 0.104 |
Disability | Has a degree of disability equal or greater than 33% | 0.009 | 0.097 | 0.012 | 0.110 |
Male | Is a male | 0.403 | 0.491 | 0.430 | 0.495 |
Under 30 | Is under the age of 30 | 0.590 | 0.492 | 0.496 | 0.500 |
Age 30-34 | Is between 30 and 34 years of age | 0.251 | 0.433 | 0.279 | 0.448 |
Age more than 35 | Is older than 35 years of age | 0.159 | 0.365 | 0.225 | 0.417 |
Variables related to the field of study. Dummy =1 if the individual has a | |||||
Arts-Humanities | Bachelor’s degree in arts or humanities (used as reference variable in our models) | 0.106 | 0.308 | 0.100 | 0.301 |
Science | Bachelor’s degree in sciences | 0.097 | 0.443 | 0.088 | 0.282 |
Social Sciences | Bachelor’s degree in social sciences | 0.443 | 0.497 | 0.458 | 0.498 |
Engineering | Bachelor’s degree in engineering or architecture | 0.224 | 0.417 | 0.212 | 0.409 |
Health | Bachelor’s degree in health sciences | 0.130 | 0.336 | 0.142 | 0.349 |
Variables related to Graduate’s skills. Dummy =1 if the graduate has a | |||||
ICT proficiency | High level of ICT proficiency | 0.158 | 0.364 | 0.209 | 0.406 |
Foreign language | High fluency in a foreign language | 0.433 | 0.495 | 0.468 | 0.499 |
Having other studies. Dummy = 1 if the individual has | |||||
Other university studies | Other university studies | 0.493 | 0.500 | ||
Other studies - degree | Another bachelor’s degree | n.a. | 0.234 | 0.424 | |
Master's degree | A master's degree | 0.353 | 0.477 | 0.475 | 0.499 |
PhD studies | PhD studies | n.a. | 0.015 | 0.123 | |
Variables related to student mobility. Dummy =1 if the individual | |||||
Mobility-national studies | Has completed part of his studies at another Spanish university. | 0.095 | 0.293 | 0.097 | 0.296 |
Mobility-international studies | Has completed part of his studies outside Spain. | 0.171 | 0.376 | 0.199 | 0.399 |
Change- residence | Has moved to find employment | 0.253 | 0.435 | 0.302 | 0.459 |
Other variables. Dummy =1 if the individual | |||||
Excellence scholarship | Has been awarded an excellence and/or collaboration scholarship during his studies | 0.063 | 0.242 | 0.073 | 0.260 |
Internship | Has done an internship during his studies | 0.745 | 0.436 | 0.735 | 0.442 |
Part-time | Has a part-time contract | 0.176 | 0.381 | 0.119 | 0.324 |
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Arrazola, M., de Hevia, J., Perrote, I. et al. Who Gets a Better Job? Comparing the Employability of Public and Private University Graduates in Spain. High Educ Policy (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-023-00325-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-023-00325-0