Higher education enrolment and graduation rates have increased rapidly inter-generationally across much of the world, offering employers the promise of more knowledgeable recruits and promising individuals new means of social advancement. In the case of Bolivia, the labour force is becoming more heterogeneous over time, which could imply positive effects induced by a closer match between labour supply and recruiters’ needs. However, we show that this is not the case. We revisit the transition mechanisms from college to the workplace, positing recruiters’ interpretations of educational credentials as a crucial determining factor for employability in the formal sector. In a two-branch correspondence study, 2848 fictitious CVs were sent to 1424 formal firms in the three main urban Bolivian areas. We find a large university reputation premium. Applicants from well-valued universities are around 40% more likely to receive a positive response – a 2.25 percentage point advantage from a 7.87% baseline likelihood. Thus, the increasingly heterogeneous labour force is generating additional informational frictions in the labour market, rather than promoting a more efficient matching process.

JEL Codes: I25, J24, C93

在世界许多地方，高等教育的入学率和毕业率已代代相传地迅速提高，为雇主提供了更多知识渊博的应聘者的希望，并为个人提供了新的社会发展手段。就玻利维亚而言，劳动力随着时间的推移变得越来越多样化，这可能意味着劳动力供应与招聘人员需求之间的紧密匹配会产生积极的影响。但是，我们证明事实并非如此。我们重新审视了从大学到工作场所的过渡机制，认为招聘人员对教育资格的解释是决定正规部门就业能力的关键决定因素。在两个分支机构的对应研究中，将2848个虚构的简历发送给了玻利维亚三个主要城市地区的1424家正规公司。我们发现大学声誉溢价很高。来自知名大学的申请者获得正面回应的可能性要高40％左右，相比之下，基准可能性为7.87％，优势是2.25个百分点。因此，日益多样化的劳动力正在劳动力市场上产生额外的信息摩擦，而不是促进更有效的匹配过程。

JEL代码： I25，J24，C93