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Why Have Girls Gone to College? A Quantitative Examination of the Female College Enrollment Rate in the United States: 1955-1980

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  • Hui He

    (Department of Economics, University of Hawai'i at Manoa)

Abstract

This paper explores the extent to which the increase in the college enrollment rate of women in the U.S. from 1955 to 1980 can be accounted for by the change in the female college wage premium. I develop and calibrate a dynamic overlapping generations model with discrete schooling choice. I find that changes in the life-cycle earnings differential can explain the increase in the female college enrollment rate very well. Young women¡¯s changing expectations of future earnings may also play an important role in driving their college entry decision.

Suggested Citation

  • Hui He, 2011. "Why Have Girls Gone to College? A Quantitative Examination of the Female College Enrollment Rate in the United States: 1955-1980," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 12(1), pages 41-64, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:cuf:journl:y:2011:v:12:i:1:p:41-64
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    Cited by:

    1. Guisinger, Amy Y., 2020. "Gender differences in the volatility of work hours and labor demand," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. He, Hui, 2012. "What drives the skill premium: Technological change or demographic variation?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1546-1572.
    3. Davoine, Thomas & Mankart, Jochen, 2017. "Changes in education, wage inequality and working hours over time," Discussion Papers 38/2017, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    4. Guisinger, Amy Y. & Hernandez-Murillo, Ruben & Owyang, Michael T. & Sinclair, Tara M., 2018. "A state-level analysis of Okun's law," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 239-248.
    5. Parro Francisco, 2012. "A Supply-Demand Framework for Understanding the U.S. Gender Gap in Education," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Şerife Genç İleri, 2019. "Selective immigration policy and its impacts on Canada's native‐born population: A general equilibrium analysis," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(3), pages 954-992, August.
    7. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & James Malley & Apostolis Philippopoulos, 2017. "Human Capital Accumulation and Transition to Skilled Employment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 72-105.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female college enrollment rate; College wage premium; Life-cycle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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