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Rigid Low College Premiums And The Expansion Of Higher Education In Taiwan

Author

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  • LI-HSUAN HUANG

    (Department of Economics, National Central University, Chungli 32054, Taiwan)

  • HSIN-YI HUANG

    (Department of Economics, National Central University, Chungli 32054, Taiwan)

Abstract

The rapid expansion of higher education in the late 1980s in Taiwan has resulted in a swift increase in the supply of highly-educated workers in the labor market. This research differs from past studies in that it analyzes the effect of the rapid expansion in higher education in Taiwan with emphasis on the cohort effect, specifically examining the effect of changes both in intra-cohort relative supply and the aggregate relative supply on college returns. Besides, when estimating the aggregate relative supply of college graduates, this study takes into account the substitutability between younger and older educated workers. We present evidence that the expansion policy has significantly depressed college premiums for workers of all ages, but the adverse effect is particularly concentrated among the younger cohorts. Furthermore, we found the elasticity of substitution between college and high school graduates to be 3–4 times higher than in developed countries. We also found the important role played by the demand side, likely linked to technological progress and changes in export structure toward the more technologically intensive. As a consequence, the expansion of higher education and increase in the relative demand for higher-educated workers, along with high elasticity of substitution between college and high school graduates, led to the rigid low college premiums.

Suggested Citation

  • Li-Hsuan Huang & Hsin-Yi Huang, 2015. "Rigid Low College Premiums And The Expansion Of Higher Education In Taiwan," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 60(04), pages 1-25.
  • Handle: RePEc:wsi:serxxx:v:60:y:2015:i:04:n:s0217590815500228
    DOI: 10.1142/S0217590815500228
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robbins, Donald J., 1996. "Hos Hits Facts: Facts Win Evidence On Trade And Wages In The Developing World," Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) Papers 294374, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Donald J. Robbins, 1996. "Evidence on Trade and Wages in the Developing World," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 119, OECD Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. Francis Green & Golo Henseke, 2021. "Europe’s evolving graduate labour markets: supply, demand, underemployment and pay," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 55(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Li-Hsuan Huang & Hsin-Yi Huang, 2017. "Real Wage Stagnancy: Evidence From Taiwan," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 65(02), pages 485-506, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; higher education expansion; stagnant college wage premium; Taiwan; I21; J24; H52;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

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