Working Paper: NBER ID: w25928
Authors: Nicola Bianchi; Michela Giorcelli
Abstract: This paper studies the effects of university STEM education on innovation and labor market outcomes by exploiting a change in enrollment requirements in Italian STEM majors. University-level scientific education had two direct effects on the development of patents by students who had acquired a STEM degree. First, the policy changed the direction of their innovation. Second, it allowed these individuals to reach top positions within firms and be more involved in the innovation process. STEM degrees, however, also changed occupational sorting. Some higher-achieving individuals used STEM degrees to enter jobs that required university-level education, but did not focus on patenting.
Keywords: STEM education; innovation; labor market; patenting; occupational sorting
JEL Codes: I21; I25; I26; I28; J24; O30
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| likelihood of patenting among industrial students who earned STEM degrees (O39) | innovative output (O36) |
| change in occupational sorting (J62) | decrease in propensity to innovate for higher-achieving industrial students (D29) |
| improvement in overall job opportunities and earnings for industrial students (J24) | decrease in innovation propensity for higher-achieving individuals (O31) |
| 1961 education reform in Italy (I28) | likelihood of patenting among industrial students who earned STEM degrees (O39) |
| 1961 education reform in Italy (I28) | change in occupational sorting (J62) |
| 1961 education reform in Italy (I28) | improvement in overall job opportunities and earnings for industrial students (J24) |