Post high school education choices in Italy: an empirical analysis

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze individual level determinants of Italian secondary school graduates' educational choices. Design/methodology/approach - The authors rely on data provided by a large survey carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. While previous contributions specifically focus on individual determinants of university enrollment, the authors model graduates' choice as emerging from a comparison of three alternative options: stop studying in order to enter the job market, continue studying at University and attend a post-secondary professional course. Therefore the multinomial logit estimates enable to define the profiles of high school graduates making different post-secondary educational choices. Findings - On the one hand, the authors find that having a good family background, with highly educated parents who hold prestigious professional positions, is associated to a preference for enrollment at university rather than stopping studying. This correlation is both direct and through the choice of academic-oriented secondary school track. On the other hand, the choice of attending professional courses rather than stopping studying seems to arise mainly from the type of secondary school track attended even if some family background characteristics influence the probability of stop studying instead of attending a professional course. Overall the results show that family background significantly affects post-secondary educational choices. Originality/value - This paper is different from previous contributions because - more realistically considers the Italian secondary school graduates as having three alternative options available: put themselves on the job market, continue studying at university or enroll on professional course.