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Labour Market Effects of Polytechnic Education Reform: The Finnish Experience

Author

Listed:
  • Petri Böckerman

    (Palkansaajien tutkimuslaitos)

  • Ulla Hämäläinen
  • Roope Uusitalo

Abstract

This paper evaluates the labour market effects of the introduction of the polytechnic education system in Finland. The reform transformed former vocational colleges gradually into polytechnics. Since the timing of the reform differed across schools, we can control for macroeconomic changes by comparing the performance of the polytechnic graduates to the performance of vocational college graduates who graduated at the same time, and to control for both time and the school fixed effects at the same time. We discover that both employment levels and earnings of post-reform graduates are significantly higher when compared to pre-reform graduates from the same schools. The effects of the polytechnic reform differ between the three largest fields. In the field of business and administration the effects from the reform have been overwhelmingly positive. This is in accordance with the fact that the polytechnic reform extended the length of education mostly in this field.

Suggested Citation

  • Petri Böckerman & Ulla Hämäläinen & Roope Uusitalo, 2007. "Labour Market Effects of Polytechnic Education Reform: The Finnish Experience," Working Papers 233, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    • Handle: RePEc:pst:wpaper:233
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Petri Böckerman & Mika Haapanen, 2013. "The effect of polytechnic reform on migration," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 593-617, April.
    2. Böckerman, Petri & Haapanen, Mika & Jepsen, Christopher, 2019. "Back to school: Labor-market returns to higher vocational schooling," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    4. Petri Böckerman & Mika Haapanen, 2013. "Does higher education enhance migration?," Working Papers 287, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    5. Gomez, Juan & Vassallo, José Manuel, 2015. "Evolution over time of heavy vehicle volume in toll roads: A dynamic panel data to identify key explanatory variables in Spain," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 282-297.
    6. Boccanfuso, Dorothée & Larouche, Alexandre & Trandafir, Mircea, 2015. "Quality of Higher Education and the Labor Market in Developing Countries: Evidence from an Education Reform in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 412-424.
    7. Petri Böckerman & Mika Haapanen & Christopher Jepsen, 2018. "Labor-Market Returns to Higher Vocational Schooling," CESifo Working Paper Series 7197, CESifo.
    8. Polidano, Cain & Tabasso, Domenico, 2016. "Fully integrating upper-secondary vocational and academic courses: A flexible new way?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 117-131.
    9. Orlanda Tavares & Cristina Sin & Carla Sá & Francisco Pereira & Alberto Amaral, 2023. "Graduate employment: Does the type of higher education institution matter?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 1140-1156, October.
    10. Böckerman, Petri & Haapanen, Mika, 2010. "The effect of education on migration: Evidence from school reform," MPRA Paper 27629, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Virolainen, Maarit & Stenström, Marja-Leena, 2014. "Finnish vocational education and training in comparison: Strengths and weaknesses," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 1(2), pages 81-106.
    12. Mika Haapanen & Petri Böckerman, 2017. "More educated, more mobile? Evidence from post-secondary education reform," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 8-26, January.
    13. Juan Gomez & José Manuel Vassallo, 2020. "Has heavy vehicle tolling in Europe been effective in reducing road freight transport and promoting modal shift?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 865-892, April.
    14. Saara Vaahtoniemi, 2021. "The finance wage premium: Finnish evidence from a gender perspective," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 35(3), pages 412-431, September.
    15. Böckerman, Petri & Haapanen, Mika & Jepsen, Christopher, 2015. "Back to School? Labor-Market Returns to Vocational Postsecondary Education," IZA Discussion Papers 9079, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Juan Gomez & José Manuel Vassallo & Israel Herraiz, 2016. "Explaining light vehicle demand evolution in interurban toll roads: a dynamic panel data analysis in Spain," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 677-703, July.
    17. Khan, Suhrab & Ali, Kazim, 2024. "Who demands technical and vocational education in Pakistan? A PSLM analysis of socio-economic determinants," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 11(2), pages 250-284.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    educational economics; human capital; salary wage differentials;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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