The Role of Education vis-a-vis Job Experience in Explaining the Transitions to Employment in the Spanish Youth Labour Market

It is well known that young cohorts experience higher unemployment rates than their adult counterparts. However, it is less well known that more educated young cohorts may face higher unemployment rates than less educated ones. This seems to be the evidence in some OECD countries such as Spain and Italy. We use data on the Spanish labour market and estimate a duration model for young unemployed people. University graduates’ lack of job experience may explain this puzzling observation.