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Article accepted in Journal of Human Capital

Article accepted in Journal of Human Capital

Johannes Göhausen and Stephan Thomsen analyze the effect of the Bologna Reform on the German vocational education system. The article has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Human Capital and will be published soon.

The Bologna Process reformed the German university system by introducing three-year undergraduate degrees. We evaluate the effects on the dual apprenticeship system where 29%
of new apprentices are also qualified for university. For identification, we exploit regional and temporal variation in reform adoption, using administrative student and labor market
data from 1997-2015. The implementation of the Bologna reform reduced the number of new highly educated apprentices considerably. In particular, clerical apprenticeships are affected. Substitutability with lower qualified apprentices is limited. However, the lower apprentice supply is partly replaced by the higher supply of university graduates in the long run.

An earlier discussion paper version can be accessed here.