Master’s degree studies and its impact on vertical and horizontal mismatch in Spain

Abstract

The goal of this study is to analyse the vertical and horizontal mismatches of graduates in the Spanish labour market focusing on the effect that a master’s degree has in each of these two mismatches. The analysis is based on the data from the Survey on the Labour Insertion of University Graduates carried out by the Spanish Statistical Office in 2019. The main conclusions stress the importance of vertical and horizontal mismatches in the Spanish labour market. The results of the quantitative analysis based on the binary and ordered logit indicate that the master’s degree can reduce the vertical mismatch. Moreover, a wider offer of master’s degrees in some fields such as health could reduce the horizontal mismatch. Eventually, some policy measures to reduce the two mismatches are proposed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to analyse both horizontal and vertical job-education mismatches among Spanish graduates, including those with a Master's degree. Thus, this study is pioneering in assessing the impact of Master's degrees in reducing educational mismatches. In addition, it shows how the likelihood of these mismatches changes with increasing work experience.