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The returns to higher education for marginal students: Evidence from Colorado Welfare recipients

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  • Turner, Lesley J.

Abstract

I estimate the impact of community college credits and credentials on the labor market outcomes of several cohorts of current and former welfare recipients. Using an individual fixed effects approach, I find that women who attend college after entering welfare experience large and significant earnings gains. These returns are driven by credential receipt and when sub-associate’ s degree credentials are unobservable, positive earnings gains will be inappropriately attributed to college attendance alone.

Suggested Citation

  • Turner, Lesley J., 2016. "The returns to higher education for marginal students: Evidence from Colorado Welfare recipients," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 169-184.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:51:y:2016:i:c:p:169-184
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.09.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Benjamin M. Marx & Lesley J. Turner, 2019. "Student Loan Nudges: Experimental Evidence on Borrowing and Educational Attainment," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 108-141, May.
    2. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    3. Lauren Schudde & Meghan Shea, 2022. "Heterogeneity in the Returns to Credits for Public Two-Year College Entrants," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(2), pages 337-367, March.
    4. Berlingieri, Francesco & Bolz, Theresa, 2020. "Earnings of university dropouts across Europe," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-085, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Ghazala Azmat & Jack Britton, 2024. "Labour Market Returns to Higher Education," Post-Print hal-04709561, HAL.
    6. Ana Maria Montoya & Carlos Noton & Alex Solis, 2017. "Returns to Higher Education: Vocational Education vs College," Documentos de Trabajo 334, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    7. Carruthers, Celeste K. & Sanford, Thomas, 2018. "Way station or launching pad? Unpacking the returns to adult technical education," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 146-159.
    8. Jiang, Dezhi, 2021. "Whose Investments in Higher Education Have Been Most Influenced by Labor Market Conditions in Recent Decades?," SocArXiv 83upm, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Access to higher education; Community colleges; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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