Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/157274 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
Diskussionsbeiträge No. 2017/11
Publisher: 
Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaft, Berlin
Abstract: 
Academic education is generally rewarded by employers, but what happens to graduates if they are trained for two years less and have to compete with vocationally trained labor market entrants in a similar field of study? Focusing on Germany, we analyze labor market entries of individuals eligible for higher education, who either opted for newly introduced short bachelor's degrees, or for well-established vocational degrees. Based on Microcensus data, we find that bachelor's degrees from classical universities are associated with higher earnings and more prestigious jobs than initial vocational training degrees, and with higher prestige (but similar earnings) than further vocational degrees. However, bachelor's degrees from universities are also related to higher risks of unemployment or fixed-term employment. Universities of applied sciences, which combine academic and practical training, offer both high earnings and prestigious jobs as well as low risks of unemployment or fixed-term employment at the bachelor's and the master's level. Overall, 'general' academic education provides advantages over vocational education, despite these structural changes. Variations by field of study are reported.
Subjects: 
labor market outcomes
Bologna Process
vocational education
higher education
Germany
JEL: 
I26
I23
J24
J31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
715.88 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.