Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

The Impact of the Bologna Process on Graduation: New Evidence from Italy

  • Published:
Research in Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Between 2001 and 2005, higher education in Italy went through a considerable process of reform according to the Bologna Process. This paper evaluates the effects of this process on the academic performance of students. We estimate the difference in graduation probability between students who switched from pre-reform university courses to post-reform courses and students who carried on their pre-reform academic career. To this end, we considered a sample of 25,866 undergraduate students enrolled 1 year before the implementation of this policy, a number that was reduced by matching techniques to achieve a balanced sample of 1020 units, thereby allowing a causal interpretation of results. Estimates of logistic models on the balanced sample suggest that switching to the post-reform university system increases the probability of completion for younger students. Furthermore, higher socio-economic backgrounds of students are positively related to graduation probability, suggesting that the social inequalities are still noticeable when the completion rates of tertiary education are considered.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
€32.70 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Finland)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Survey on Household Income and Wealth.

References

  • Agasisti, T., & Murtinu, S. (2016). Grants in italian university: A look at the heterogeneity of their impact on students’ performances. Studies in Higher Education, 41(6), 1106–1132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alcott, B. (2017). Does teacher encouragement influence students’ educational progress? A propensity-score matching analysis. Research in Higher Education, 58(7), 773–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ANVUR. (2016). Rapporto biennale sullo stato del sistema universitario e della ricerca. Technical report, National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Reserch Institutes.

  • Bagues, M., Labini, M., & Zinovyeva, N. (2008). Differential grading standards and university funding: Evidence from Italy. CESifo Economic Studies, 54(2), 149–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballarino, G., & Perotti, L. (2012). The Bologna process in Italy. European Journal of Education, 47(3), 348–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanden, J., & Machin, S. (2004). Educational inequality and the expansion of UK Higher Education. Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 51(2), 230–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boero, G., Laureti, T., & Naylor, R. (2005). An econometric analysis of student withdrawal and progression in post-reform Italian universities. Working Paper CRENoS 200504, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.

  • Bonaccorsi, A., & Daraio, C. (2007). Universities and strategic knowledge creation: Specialization and performance in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brand, J. E., Pfeffer, F. T., & Goldrick-Rab, S. (2014). The community college effect revisited: The importance of attending to heterogeneity and complex counterfactuals. Sociological Science, 1(25), 448–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bratti, M., Broccolini, C., & Staffolani, S. (2010). Higher education reform, student time allocation and academic performance in Italy: Evidence from a faculty of economics. Rivista italiana degli economisti, 15(2), 275–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bratti, M., Checchi, D., & De Blasio, G. (2008). Does the expansion of higher education increase the equality of educational opportunities? Evidence from Italy. Labour, 22(s1), 53–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunori, P., Peragine, V., & Serlenga, L. (2012). Fairness in education: The Italian university before and after the reform. Economics of Education Review, 31(5), 764–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cammelli, A., Antonelli, G., Di Francia, A., Gasperoni, G., & Sgarzi, M. (2011). Mixed outcomes of the Bologna process in Italy (pp. 143–170). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cappellari, L., & Lucifora, C. (2009). The Bologna process and college enrollment decisions. Labour Economics, 16(6), 638–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso, A., Portela, M., Sá, C., & Alexandre, F. (2008). Demand for higher education programs: The impact of the Bologna process. CESifo Economic Studies, 54(2), 229–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Checchi, D., Fiorio, C., & Leonardi, M. (2013). Intergenerational persistence of educational attainment in Italy. Economics Letters, 118(1), 229–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Checchi, D., & Flabbi, L. (2006). Mobilità intergenerazionale e decisioni scolastiche in Italia (pp. 27–56). Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, R. (2012). Institutional characteristics and college student dropout risks: A multilevel event history analysis. Research in Higher Education, 53(5), 487–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chies, L., Puggioni, A., & Stok, R. (2014). Il limbo tra laurea e il primo lavoro: Scienza e tecnologia lo accorciano? Il caso dell’università di Trieste. Scuola Democratica: Learning for Democracy, 2, 295–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cingano, F., & Cipollone, P. (2007). University drop-out. The case of Italy. Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 626, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

  • CNSVU. (2002). Rapporti annuali sullo stato delle università. Technical report, National Cometee for the Evaluation of University System.

  • d’Hombres, B. (2007). The impact of university reforms on dropout rates and students status: Evidence from Italy. European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen and European Commission Joint Research Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning.

  • Di Pietro, G. (2012). The Bologna process and widening participation in university education: New evidence from Italy. Empirica, 39(3), 357–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Pietro, G., & Cutillo, A. (2008). Degree flexibility and university drop-out: The Italian experience. Economics of Education Review, 27(5), 546–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, A., & Sekhon, J. S. (2013). Genetic matching for estimating causal effects: A general multivariate matching method for achieving balance in observational studies. Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(3), 932–945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobbins, M., & Knill, C. (2017). Higher education governance in France, Germany, and Italy: Change and variation in the impact of transnational soft governance. Policy and Society, 36(1), 67–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EHEA. (2012). The European Higher Education Area in 2012: Bologna process implementation report. Technical report, European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice.

  • García-Estevez, J., & Duch-Brown, N. (2014). Student graduation in spain: To what extent does university expenditure matter? Research in Higher Education, 55(3), 308–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gelman, A., & Hill, J. (2006). Data analysis using regression and multilevel/hierarchical models. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Georg, W. (2009). Individual and institutional factors in the tendency to drop out of higher education: A multilevel analysis using data from the Konstanz student survey. Studies in Higher Education, 34(6), 647–661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graziosi, G. (2014). The role of merit-based and need-based financial aid: Evidence from Trieste University’s Grant Programs. Rivista italiana degli economisti, 1, 103–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horstschräer, J., & Sprietsma, M. (2010). The effects of the Bologna process on college enrollment and drop-out rates. ZEW-Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper (10-018).

  • Hunter, F. (2015). Internationalisation as a lever for change: The case of Italy (pp. 93–107). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Imbens, G. (2004). Nonparametric estimation of average treatment effects under exogeneity: A review. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(1), 4–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ISTAT. (2006). Università e lavoro: orientarsi con la statistica.

  • ISTAT. (2016). Studenti e bacini universitari.

  • Lassibille, G. (2011). Student progress in higher education: What we have learned from large-scale studies. The Open Education Journal, 4, 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, L., & Burridge, A. B. (2015). Helping or hindering? The effects of loans on community college student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 56(4), 299–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mebane, W. R, Jr., & Sekhon, J. S. (2011). Genetic optimization using derivatives: The rgenoud package for r. Journal of Statistical Software, 42(11), 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meggiolaro, S., Giraldo, A., & Clerici, R. (2017). A multilevel competing risks model for analysis of university students careers in Italy. Studies in Higher Education, 42(7), 1259–1274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2008). Higher education to 2030 (Vol. 1): Demography. Paris: OECD Publishing.

  • OECD. (2016). Education at a glance 2016: Oecd indicators. Technical report. Paris: OECD Publishing.

  • OECD. (2017). Education at a glance 2017: OECD indicators. Technical report. Paris: OECD Publishing.

  • Oppedisano, V. (2011). The (adverse) effects of expanding higher education: Evidence from Italy. Economics of Education Review, 30(5), 997–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research (Vol. 2).

  • Paulsen, M. B., & Edward, P. S. J. (2002). Social class and college costs: Examining the financial nexus between college choice and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 73(2), 189–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. L., & DesJardins, S. L. (2009). The use of matching methods in higher education research: Answering whether attendance at a 2-year institution results in differences in educational attainment (pp. 47–97). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbau, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70(1), 41–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, D. B. (1980). Bias reduction using Mahalanobis-metric matching. Biometrics, 36, 295–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekhon, J. S. (2011). Multivariate and propensity score matching software with automated balance optimization: The matching package for R. Journal of Statistical Software, 42(7), 1–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Severiens, S., & ten Dam, G. (2012). Leaving college: A gender comparison in male and female-dominated programs. Research in Higher Education, 53(4), 453–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tinto, V. (2010). From theory to action: Exploring the institutional conditions for student retention (pp. 51–89). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triventi, M., & Trivellato, P. (2009). Participation, performance and inequality in italian higher education in the 20th century. Higher Education, 57(6), 681–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vossensteyn, H., Kottmann, A., Jongbloed, B., Kaiser, F., Cremonini, L., Stensaker, B., Hovdhaugen, E., & Wollscheid, S. (2015). Dropout and completion in higher education in europe: Main report.

  • Witte, J. K. (2006). Change of degrees and degrees of change. comparing adaptations of european higher education systems in the context of the bologna process. Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics (DEAMS), University of Trieste, Via dell’Università, 1, Trieste, Italy

    Laura Chies, Grazia Graziosi & Francesco Pauli

Authors
  1. Laura Chies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Grazia Graziosi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Francesco Pauli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grazia Graziosi.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Balance Diagnostics

In Table 5, diagnostics for balance are reported for all variables and, for each variable, there are two rows: the first row contains the pre-matching balance statistics, and the second contains the post-matching balance statistics. A graphic diagnostic, the QQ plot (Fig. 2), is reported for numeric variables.

Table 5 Balance diagnostics for covariates.
Full size table
Fig. 2
figure 2

Balance for numerical variable (treated on x axis, control on y axis)

Full size image

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chies, L., Graziosi, G. & Pauli, F. The Impact of the Bologna Process on Graduation: New Evidence from Italy. Res High Educ 60, 203–218 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9512-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9512-4

Keywords

Mathematics Subject Classification

Search

Navigation