Evaluation of the impact of Erasmus study mobility on salaries and employment of recent graduates in Spain

  1. Iriondo, Iñaki 1
  1. 1 Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Estructura e Historia, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Revista:
Studies in Higher Education

ISSN: 0307-5079 1470-174X

Año de publicación: 2020

Volumen: 45

Número: 4

Páginas: 925-943

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1582011 GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Studies in Higher Education

Resumen

Little empirical literature assessing the impact of Erasmus study program on graduate career prospects exists. All too often, the empirical evidence available is either bias or indirect. Furthermore, the existing differences among study mobility participants and non-participant peers in terms of ability, socioeconomic background or field of study are often ignored, leading us to believe that the correlations observed to date cannot be considered as causal. In an attempt to obtain less biased evidence on the effect of Erasmus study mobility on career and salary prospects, a propensity score matching approach was used. As far as we are aware, no other studies involving this approach have been carried out in Spain. Our objective therefore was to contribute to the knowledge available through the analysis of two graduate surveys. The main conclusion reached was that in the medium term, Erasmus programs do in effect have a positive impact on the prospects of recent graduates, who in terms of income were able to command salaries that were 10–12 per cent higher than their counterparts.

Información de financiación

Financiadores

  • Santander-Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    • PR 26/16 - 20327

Referencias bibliográficas

  • Barajas, A., E. Huergo, and L. Moreno. 2016. “SME Performance and Public Support for International RJVs.” Journal of Small Business Management 54 (4): 1206–28. doi:10.1111/jsbm.12221.
  • Caliendo, M., and S. Kopeinig. 2008. “Some Practical Guidance for the Implementation of Propensity Score Matching.” Journal of Economic Surveys 22: 31–72. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00527.x.
  • Dehejiaa, R. H., and S. Wahbabj. 1999. “Causal Effects in Nonexperimental Studies: Reevaluating the Evaluation of Training Programs.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 94 (448). doi:10.1080/01621459.1999.10473858.
  • Di Pietro, G. 2015. “Do Study Abroad Programs Enhance the Employability of Graduates?” Education Finance and Policy 10 (2): 223–43.
  • European Commission. 2015. Erasmus. Facts, Figures & Trends. The European Union support for student and staff exchanges and university cooperation in 2013-2014, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, European Commission, Brussels.
  • INE. 2016. Encuesta de Inserción Laboral de Titulados Universitarios 2014. Metodología. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Madrid. http://www.ine.es/daco/daco42/eilu/metodologia_2014.pdf.
  • Kratz, F., and N. Netz. 2016. “Which Mechanisms Explain Monetary Returns to International Student Mobility?” Studies in Higher Education, doi:10.1080/03075079.2016.1172307.
  • Leuven, E., and B. Sianesi. 2003. PSMATCH2: Stata Module to Perform Full Mahalanobis and Propensity Score Matching, Common Support Graphing, and Covariate Imbalance Testing. Software, http://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s432001.html.
  • MECD. 2012. Estudio Europeo de Competencia Lingüística EECL, vol. I y II, informe español. MINISTERIO DE EDUCACIÓN, CULTURA Y DEPORTE. Secretaría de Estado de Educación, Formación Profesional y Universidades. Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa.
  • Messer, D., and S. C. Wolter. 2007. “Are Student Exchange Programs Worth It?” Higher Education 54: 647–63. doi:10.1007/s10734-006-9016-6.
  • Oosterbeek, H., and D. Webbink. 2006. “Assessing the Returns to Studying Abroad” CPB Discussion Paper N. 64, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
  • Oosterbeek, H., and D. Webbink. 2011. “Does Studying Abroad Induce a Brain Drain?” Economica 78: 347–66. doi:10.1111/ j.1468-0335.2009.00818.x.
  • Rodrigues, M. 2013. Does Student Mobility During Higher Education Pay? Evidence from 16 European Countries, Report EUR 26089 EN. Ispra, Italy: Joint Research CENTRE, European Commission.
  • Rosenbaum, P. R., and D. B. Rubin. 1983. “The Central Role of the Propensity Score in Observational Studies for Causal Effects.” Biometrika 70 (1): 41–55. doi:10.1093/biomet/70.1.41.
  • Schlotter, M., G. Schwerdt, and L. Woessmann. 2011. “Econometric Methods for Causal Evaluation of Education Policies and Practices: A Non-Technical Guide.” Education Economics 19 (2): 109–37. doi:10.1080/09645292.2010.511821.
  • Otero, M. S. 2008. “The Socio-Economic Background of Erasmus Students: A Trend Towards Wider Inclusion?” International Review of Education 54 (2): 135–54. doi:10.1007/s11159-007-9081-9.
  • Teichler, U. 2011. “International Dimensions of Higher Education and Graduate Employment.” In The Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society, edited by Jim Allen and Rolf van der Velden, 177–98. Dordrecht: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-1353-6_7.
  • Teichler, U., and K. Janson. 2007. “The Professional Value of Temporary Study in Another European Country: Employment and Work of Former Erasmus Students.” Journal of Studies in International Education 11 (3–4): 486–95. doi:10.1177/1028315307303230.
  • Waibel, S., H. Rüger, A. Ette, and L. Sauer. 2017. “Career Consequences of Transnational Educational Mobility: A Systematic Literature Review”, Educational Research Review, Volume 20, February, 81–98. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2016.12.001.
  • Wiers-Jenssen, J. 2011. “Background and Employability of Mobile vs. Non-Mobile Students.” Tertiary Education and Management 17 (2): 79–100. doi:10.1080/13583883.2011.562524.
  • Wiers-Jenssen, J., and S. Try. 2005. “Labour Market Outcomes of Higher Education Undertaken Abroad.” Studies in Higher Education 30 (6): 681–705. doi:10.1080/03075070500340028.