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The wage expectations of European college students

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Author Info
Giorgio Brunello (University of Padua, Italy)
Claudio Lucifora (Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy)
Rudolf Winter-Ebmer () (Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria)

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Abstract

Expected earnings and expected returns to education are seen by labor economists as a major determinant of educational attainment. In spite of this, the empirical knowledge about expectations and their formation is scarce. In this paper we report the results of the first systematic study of the wage expectations of European college students. Our data are based on the replies to the same questionnaire by more than 6000 college students all over Europe. We study the determinants of wage expectations and expected employment probabilities, the variability of these expectations within a field of study and their variation across universities and fields. We also examine the trade-off between expected starting wages and wage growth. In the final section of the paper, we contrast expected returns to education with actual returns estimated from country-specific micro-data. In line with U.S. studies we find that students overestimate returns to education.

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Paper provided by Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria in its series Economics working papers with number 2001-08.

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Date of creation: Mar 2001
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Handle: RePEc:jku:econwp:2001_08

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Related research
Keywords: returns to education; expectations formation; information processing.;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Charles F. Manski, 1993. "Adolescent Econometricians: How Do Youth Infer the Returns to Schooling?," NBER Chapters, in: Studies of Supply and Demand in Higher Education, pages 43-60 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Nickell, Stephen & Bell, Brian, 1995. "The Collapse in Demand for the Unskilled and Unemployment across the OECD," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 40-62, Spring.
  4. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 7-72, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. J. Dominitz & C. F. Manski, . "Eliciting student expectations of the returns to schooling," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1049-94, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-38, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Charles T. Clotfelter & Michael Rothschild, 1993. "Studies of Supply and Demand in Higher Education," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number clot93-1, September.
  8. Leonard, Jonathan S, 1982. "Wage Expectations in the Labor Market: Survey Evidence on Rationality," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 64(1), pages 157-61, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf & Wirz, Aniela, 2002. "Public Funding and Enrolment into Higher Education in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 503, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  10. repec:att:wimass:199110 is not listed on IDEAS
  11. Carvajal, Manuel J. & Bendana, David & Bozorgmanesh, Alireza & Castillo, Miguel A. & Pourmasiha, Katayoun & Rao, Priya & Torres, Juan A., 2000. "Inter-gender differentials between college students' earnings expectations and the experience of recent graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 229-243, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Nickell, Stephen, 1979. "Education and Lifetime Patterns of Unemployment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages S117-31, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Altonji, Joseph G, 1993. "The Demand for and Return to Education When Education Outcomes Are Uncertain," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 48-83, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Betts, Julian R, 1998. "The Impact of Educational Standards on the Level and Distribution of Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 266-75, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Friedrich Schneider & Alexander F. Wagner, 2003. "Tradeable permits - Ten key design issues," Economics working papers 2003-04, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
  2. Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf & Wirz, Aniela, 2002. "Public Funding and Enrolment into Higher Education in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 503, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Friedrich Schneider & Alexander F. Wagner & Mathias Dufour, 2003. "Satisfaction not guaranteed-Institutions and satisfaction with democracy in Western Europe," Economics working papers 2003-03, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Julia Varga, 2003. "The Role of Labour Market Expectations and Admission Probabilities in Students' Application Decisions on Higher Education: the case of Hungary," Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market 0308, Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Massimiliano Bratti, 2006. "Social Class and Undergraduate Degree Subject in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 1979, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Jürg Schweri & Stefan C. Wolter & Joop Hartog, 2008. "Do Students Expect Compensation for Wage Risk?," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0011, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Wolter, Stefan C. & Zbinden, André, 2001. "Rates of Return to Education: The View of Students in Switzerland," IZA Discussion Papers 371, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  8. Brunello, Giorgio & De Paola, Maria & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2008. "Residential Peer Effects in Higher Education: Does the Field of Study Matter?," IZA Discussion Papers 3277, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  9. Friedrich Schneider & Kausik Chaudhuri & Sumana Chatterjee, 2003. "The Size and Development of the Indian Shadow Economy and a Comparison with other 18 Asian Countries: An Empirical Investigation," Economics working papers 2003-02, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
  10. Daniele Checchi, 2003. "The Italian educational system: family background and social stratification," Departemental Working Papers 2003-01, Department of Economics University of Milan Italy. [Downloadable!]
  11. Julia Varga, 2001. "Earnings Expectations and Higher Education Enrolment Decisions in Hungary," Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market 0110, Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. [Downloadable!]
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