졸업시기 경기변동이 대졸자의 노동시장 성과에 미치는 장기적 효과

This study investigates the long-term impact of business cycle at the time of graduation on the wage of college undergraduates using data from the 2007-2018 Youth Panel. Empirical results of estimating wage equations for them from 2007-2011 are as follows: First, when the unemployment rate, measured in the region where an individual resided at the time of graduation, rises by 1% point, the college graduates immediately experiences a wage loss of 12.5% to 13.6% in the year he/she graduated from college. The effect lasts until 4 years after graduation, resulting in a wage loss of 4.3% to 5.3%. Second, from the subsample analysis divided into gender and education level, wage loss of female is greater than that of male, but the effect fade away after 4 years of graduation regardless of gender. The heterogeneous effects by education level are evident. While 4-year university graduates lose their wage by 8.1%, 2-year college graduates experience wage loss of 19.1%. After 4 years of graduation, wage loss of 4-year university graduates disappears, but 2-year college graduates still suffer from wage loss. Third, the magnitude of the impact of economic fluctuations estimated with balanced panel is smaller than that with unbalanced panel. This result is consistent regardless of gender or educational level. However, even in the balanced panel analysis, the long-term negative effect on 2-year college graduates remains. Of these empirical results, the asymmetric effect in terms of both size and duration depending on the educational level will be a useful information for designing youth employment-related policies. It suggests the need for policies to help relatively vulnerable groups. From this point of view, the mutual-aid project for youth’s asset-building program and the subsidy for employment promotion for the youth can be said to be a desirable policy.