We consider the academic performance of Italian university graduates and their labour market position three years after graduation. Our data show that female students outperform male students in academia but are overcome in the labour market. Assuming that academic competition is fair and that...

We consider the academic performance of Italian university graduates and their labour market position three years after graduation. Our data show that female students outperform male students in academia but are overcome in the labour market. Assuming that academic competition is fair and that...

By applying Markovian analysis to Italian labor market transition matrices we verify whether higher education increases the likelihood of young workers moving from non-standard to standard wage contracts. As we find evidence for the so-called stepping stone hypothesis, we expect graduates to be...