Evidence on the Wage Returns of Advanced Vocational Training and University Education in Spain

Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of the wage return to tertiary education in Spain,
distinguishing between advanced vocational training and university education. Using
microdata from the Spanish Structure of Earnings Survey, the study estimates wage equations
which, in addition to considering the human capital and the personal and employment
characteristics of individuals as causal factors, includes a measure of the excess labour supply
of university graduates by region. The results show that the wage differential of the graduate
population fell, in general, in the period 1995-2006, and that a relatively high supply of
graduates in the regional labour market negatively affects wages in such regions, and that
these effects increase over time.