Labor Market Outcomes for Doctoral Graduates (Japanese)

Amid concerns about Japan’s declining research capacity, policies to support doctoral human resources are actively discussed. This study uses micro data from the 2022 Employment Status Survey to analyze the labor market outcomes of postgraduates by dividing them into doctoral and master’s graduates. First, the employment rate of doctoral graduates is higher than that of master’s graduates, and the difference is particularly large for females. Second, doctoral graduates are paid 40% more than master’s graduates. Third, controlling for industries and occupations at the three-digit level, the wage difference between doctoral and master’s degrees is reduced to about 10%. This suggests that doctoral graduates self-select into higher-paying industries and occupations. Fourth, although the difference in employment rates between males and females is smaller for doctoral graduates than for master’s graduates, the difference in wages is about the same or slightly larger for doctoral graduates. Fifth, the discounted present value of lifetime earnings for doctoral graduates is 17% higher for males and 36% higher for females than for master’s graduates. The estimated internal rate of return on investment in doctoral education is around 10% for both males and females.