TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Malacrino, Davide
AU  - Nocito, Samuel
AU  - Saggio, Raffaele
        TI  - Do Reforms Aimed at Reducing Time to Graduation Work? Evidence from the Italian Higher Education System
        PY  - 2026/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18530
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18530
        AB  - This paper examines the impact of a reform aimed at expediting graduation times in Italian universities by reducing the number of exams students must pass in order to graduate. Using event-study estimates that leverage the reform's staggered implementation, we find that this policy led to an increase in on-time graduation rates but also resulted in a decreased probability of employment one-year post-graduation. However, this negative effect reverses into a positive one in the medium run. We show that these patterns are explained by students using the time gained from earlier graduation to pursue additional educational qualifications.
        KW  - higher education
KW  - policy evaluation
KW  - time to graduation
KW  - labor outcomes
        ER  -