The evolution of wage gaps between STEM and non-STEM graduates in a technological following economy

ABSTRACT

Based on the assumption that the set of skills characterizing different fields of study do not match the new technologies in the same way, we focus on the evolution of wage gaps between university graduates in STEM disciplines and other subjects. An Oaxaca decomposition technique is applied to early wages of Italian graduates after taking into account both the selection into employment and the endogeneity of major’s choice. Our results can hardly be reconciled with the hypothesis of a technological change favouring STEM graduates in Italy, and are more consistent with the worsening in the relative demand for STEM graduates.