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Who Receives the College Wage Premium?: Assessing the Labor Market Returns to Degrees and College Transfer Patterns

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  • Audrey Light
  • Wayne Strayer

Abstract

Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate wage models in which college-educated workers are classified according to their degree attainment, college type, and college transfer status. The detailed taxonomy produces modest improvements in explanatory power relative to standard specifications, and reveals considerable heterogeneity in the predicted wages of college-educated workers. We find that transfer students receive an “indirect” wage benefit insofar as changing colleges allows them to earn a degree. Some transfer students receive an additional “direct” wage benefit, presumably because switching schools increases their skill investment opportunities.

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  • Audrey Light & Wayne Strayer, 2004. "Who Receives the College Wage Premium?: Assessing the Labor Market Returns to Degrees and College Transfer Patterns," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:39:y:2004:i:3:p746-773
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    Cited by:

    1. Montgomery, Mark & Anderson, Katharine, 2007. "Best laid plans: Gender and the MBA completion rates of GMAT registrants," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 175-191, March.
    2. Eleanor Wiske Dillon & Jeffrey Andrew Smith, 2020. "The Consequences of Academic Match between Students and Colleges," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 55(3), pages 767-808.
    3. Linda Holmlund & Hâkan Regn�r, 2011. "Earnings of students who change universities," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 538-548, February.
    4. Katja Görlitz & Barbara S. Grave, 2012. "Wage Differentials by Field of Study – The Case of German University Graduates," Ruhr Economic Papers 0316, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    5. repec:zbw:rwirep:0316 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Andrews, Rodney & Li, Jing & Lovenheim, Michael F., 2014. "Heterogeneous paths through college: Detailed patterns and relationships with graduation and earnings," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 93-108.
    7. Christopher Jepsen, 2008. "Multinomial Probit Estimates of College Completion at Two-Year and Four-Year Schools," Open Access publications 10197/4447, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    8. Gicheva, Dora & Anand, Priyanka, 2020. "The Impact of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on the Employment and Academic Progress of College Students," UNCG Economics Working Papers 20-3, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
    9. Barbara S. Grave & Katja Goerlitz, 2012. "Wage differentials by field of study -- the case of German university graduates," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 284-302, March.
    10. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Stephan Veen, 2006. "Incentives for Schools, Educational Signals and Labour Market Outcomes," Working Papers 0061, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised Jun 2006.
    11. Jaeram Lee & Jungjoon Ihm, 2020. "Gender Difference in Returns to Education Independent of Gender Wage Gap in Korea," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 213-232, June.
    12. Di Xu & Sabrina Solanki & Ashley Harlow, 2020. "Examining the Relationship Between 2-year College Entry and Baccalaureate Aspirants’ Academic and Labor Market Outcomes: Impacts, Heterogeneity, and Mechanisms," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 61(3), pages 297-329, May.
    13. Neugebauer, Martin & Daniel, Annabell, 2021. "Higher Education Non-Completion, Employers, and Labor Market Integration: Experimental Evidence," SocArXiv evm74, Center for Open Science.
    14. Audrey Light & Alita Nandi, 2007. "Identifying race and ethnicity in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 26(2), pages 125-144, April.
    15. Audrey Light & Alita Nandi, 2004. "The 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth is among the few surveys to provide multiple reports on respondents’ race and ethnicity. Respondents were initially classified as Hispanic, black, or “ot," Working Papers 04-09, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    16. Nicholas A. Bowman & Gregory C. Wolniak & Tricia A. Seifert & Kathleen Wise & Charles Blaich, 2023. "The Long-Term Role of Undergraduate Experiences: Predicting Intellectual and Civic Outcomes," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(3), pages 379-401, May.
    17. Alfonso Flores-Lagunes & Audrey Light, 2010. "Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 45(2).
    18. Alfonso Flores-Lagunes & Audrey Light, "undated". "Interpreting Sheepskin Effects in the Returns to Education," Working Papers 22, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Education Research Section..
    19. Hans‐Peter Y. Qvist & Anders Holm & Martin D. Munk, 2021. "Demand and Supply Effects and Returns to College Education: Evidence from a Natural Experiment with Engineers in Denmark," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(2), pages 676-704, April.
    20. Gibbison, Godfrey A. & Henry, Tracyann L. & Perkins-Brown, Jayne, 2011. "The chicken soup effect: The role of recreation and intramural participation in boosting freshman grade point average," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 247-257, April.
    21. Michael D. Bloem, 2023. "Impacts of Transfer Admissions Requirements: Evidence from Georgia," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(6), pages 834-861, September.
    22. Darwin Miller, 2007. "Isolating the Causal Impact of Community College Enrollment on Educational Attainment and Labor Market Outcomes in Texas," Discussion Papers 06-033, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
    23. Jepsen, Christopher, 2008. "Multinomial probit estimates of college completion at 2-year and 4-year schools," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 155-160, February.
    24. Liu, Vivian Y.T. & Belfield, Clive R. & Trimble, Madeline J., 2015. "The medium-term labor market returns to community college awards: Evidence from North Carolina," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 42-55.
    25. Hans-Peter Y. Qvist & Anders Holm & Martin D. Munk, 2016. "Demand and Supply Effects and Returns to College Education - Evidence from a Natural Experiment with Engineers in Denmark," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20164, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).

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