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Do completed college majors respond to changes in wages?

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  • Long, Mark C.
  • Goldhaber, Dan
  • Huntington-Klein, Nick

Abstract

In an analysis connecting labor market earnings to college major choices, we find statistically significant relationships between changes in wages by occupation and subsequent changes in college majors completed in related fields of college study between 1982 and 2012. College majors (defined at a detailed level) are most strongly related to wages observed three years earlier, when students were college freshmen. The responses to wages vary depending on the extent to which there is a strong mapping of majors into particular occupations. We also find that women, blacks, Hispanics, and students with low test scores are less likely to respond to wage changes. These findings have implications for policy interventions designed to align students’ major choices with labor market demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Long, Mark C. & Goldhaber, Dan & Huntington-Klein, Nick, 2015. "Do completed college majors respond to changes in wages?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-14.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:49:y:2015:i:c:p:1-14
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.07.007
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    College majors; Occupations; Labor market wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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