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Who skims the cream of the Italian graduate crop? Wage employment versus self-employment

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  • Carolina Castagnetti
  • Luisa Rosti

Abstract

This paper tests whether the academic achievement is a significant determinant of the employment status in the Italian labor market: are the new entrepreneurs selected from the top or bottom end of the graduates ability distribution? Is the cream of the graduate crop pulled into selfemployment by the higher expected earnings or are the individuals with lower degree score pushed into entrepreneurship by poor alternatives? Our data show a strong negative relation between academic achievement and self-employment status, i.e. we assess the skimming of the best graduates into wage and salary work.
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Suggested Citation

  • Carolina Castagnetti & Luisa Rosti, 2011. "Who skims the cream of the Italian graduate crop? Wage employment versus self-employment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 223-234, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:36:y:2011:i:2:p:223-234
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-009-9199-1
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tom Karmel & Ben Braysher, 2015. "How Much Do Tradespersons Really Earn?," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 18(3), pages 329-344.
    3. Maria Noguera & Claudia Alvarez & José M. Merigó & David Urbano, 2015. "Determinants of female entrepreneurship in Spain: an institutional approach," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 341-355, December.
    4. Mohsen Mohammadi Khyareh, 2018. "Determinants Of Female Entrepreneurship In Iran: An Institutional Approach," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 63(216), pages 111-130, January –.
    5. repec:beo:journl:v:62:y:2018:i:216:p:111-130 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Stefan Krabel, 2018. "Are entrepreneurs made on campus? The impact of entrepreneurial universities and graduates’ human capital on graduates’ occupational choice," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 456-485, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Self-employment; Education; Wage return; Italy; J24; J31; L26;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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