IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17283.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Unbundling Returns to Postsecondary Degrees and Skills: Evidence from Colombia

Author

Listed:
  • Busso, Matias

    (Inter-American Development Bank)

  • Montaño, Sebastián

    (University of Maryland)

  • Muñoz-Morales, Juan S.

    (IÉSEG School of Management)

Abstract

Using longitudinal data of college graduates in Colombia, we estimate labor market returns to postsecondary degrees and to various skills—including literacy, numeracy, foreign language, and field-specific skills. Graduates of academic programs and schools of higher reputation obtain higher earnings relative to vocational public programs. A one standard deviation increase in each skill predicts average earnings increases of one to three percent. Returns vary along the earnings distribution, with tenure, with the degree of job specialization, and by gender. Our results imply that degrees and skills capture different human capital components that are rewarded differently in the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Busso, Matias & Montaño, Sebastián & Muñoz-Morales, Juan S., 2024. "Unbundling Returns to Postsecondary Degrees and Skills: Evidence from Colombia," IZA Discussion Papers 17283, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17283
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17283.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric R. Eide & Michael J. Hilmer & Mark H. Showalter, 2016. "Is It Where You Go Or What You Study? The Relative Influence Of College Selectivity And College Major On Earnings," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 34(1), pages 37-46, January.
    2. Antonio Di Paolo & Aysit Tansel, 2015. "Returns to Foreign Language Skills in a Developing Country: The Case of Turkey," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(4), pages 407-421, April.
    3. Jack Mountjoy, 2022. "Community Colleges and Upward Mobility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(8), pages 2580-2630, August.
    4. Ishikawa, Mamoru & Ryan, Daniel, 2002. "Schooling, basic skills and economic outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 231-243, June.
    5. Busso, Matías & Bassi, Marina & Urzúa, Sergio & Vargas, Jaime, 2012. "Disconnected: Skills, Education, and Employment in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 427, December.
    6. Sandra E. Black & Jeffrey T. Denning & Jesse Rothstein, 2023. "Winners and Losers? The Effect of Gaining and Losing Access to Selective Colleges on Education and Labor Market Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 26-67, January.
    7. Jonathan James, 2013. "The surprising impact of high school math on job market outcomes," Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Nov.
    8. Song, Moohoun & Orazem, Peter F. & Wohlgemuth, Darin, 2008. "The role of mathematical and verbal skills on the returns to graduate and professional education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 664-675, December.
    9. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    10. Marina Bassi & Matías Busso & Sergio Urzúa & Jaime Vargas, 2012. "Disconnected: Skills, Education, and Employment in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 79504, February.
    11. Erik Lindqvist & Roine Vestman, 2011. "The Labor Market Returns to Cognitive and Noncognitive Ability: Evidence from the Swedish Enlistment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 101-128, January.
    12. Martin Nybom, 2017. "The Distribution of Lifetime Earnings Returns to College," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(4), pages 903-952.
    13. Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2004. "Language Skills and Earnings: Evidence from Childhood Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 481-496, May.
    14. Cunha, Flavio & Heckman, James J. & Lochner, Lance, 2006. "Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 697-812, Elsevier.
    15. Rodney J. Andrews & Scott A. Imberman & Michael F. Lovenheim & Kevin M. Stange, 2022. "The Returns to College Major Choice: Average and Distributional Effects, Career Trajectories, and Earnings Variability," NBER Working Papers 30331, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Esteban Aucejo & Jonathan James, 2021. "The Path to College Education: The Role of Math and Verbal Skills," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(10), pages 2905-2946.
    17. Seth D. Zimmerman, 2019. "Elite Colleges and Upward Mobility to Top Jobs and Top Incomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(1), pages 1-47, January.
    18. Harry Anthony Patrinos & George Psacharopoulos & Aysit Tansel, 2021. "Private and Social Returns to Investment in Education: the Case of Turkey with Alternative Methods," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(14), pages 1638-1658, March.
    19. Guo, Qian & Sun, Wenkai, 2014. "Economic returns to English proficiency for college graduates in mainland China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 290-300.
    20. Tyler, John H., 2004. "Basic skills and the earnings of dropouts," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 221-235, June.
    21. Ozawa, Sachiko & Laing, Sarah K. & Higgins, Colleen R. & Yemeke, Tatenda T. & Park, Christine C. & Carlson, Rebecca & Ko, Young Eun & Guterman, L. Beryl & Omer, Saad B., 2022. "Educational and economic returns to cognitive ability in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    22. repec:idb:brikps:427 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhou, Yonghong & Zhu, Rong & Zheng, Xian, 2020. "Second language skills and labor market outcomes: Evidence from the handover of Hong Kong," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    2. Wang, Haining & Smyth, Russell & Cheng, Zhiming, 2017. "The economic returns to proficiency in English in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 91-104.
    3. Bonin, Holger, 2017. "The Potential Economic Benefits of Education of Migrants in the EU," IZA Research Reports 75, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Acosta,Pablo Ariel & Muller,Noel & Sarzosa,Miguel Alonso, 2015. "Beyond qualifications : returns to cognitive and socio-emotional skills in Colombia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7430, The World Bank.
    5. Carla Calero & Sandra V. Rozo, 2016. "The effects of youth training on risk behavior: the role of non-cognitive skills," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-27, December.
    6. Hahm, Sabrina & Gazzola, Michele, 2022. "The Value of Foreign Language Skills in the German Labor Market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Cobb-Clark Deborah A. & Harmon Colm & Staneva Anita, 2021. "The bilingual gap in children's language, emotional, and pro-social development," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-41, January.
    8. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Mu, Kai & Wang, Shaoda, 2024. "English language requirement and educational inequality: Evidence from 16 million college applicants in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Ghazala Azmat & Jack Britton, 2024. "Labour Market Returns to Higher Education," Post-Print hal-04709561, HAL.
    10. Krishnakumar, Jaya & Nogales, Ricardo, 2020. "Education, skills and a good job: A multidimensional econometric analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    11. Andrea Repetto, 2013. "Vulnerabilidad y Oportunidades: Los Jóvenes Inactivos en Chile," Working Papers wp_031, Adolfo Ibáñez University, School of Government.
    12. Stenberg, Anders & Westerlund, Olle, 2016. "Flexibility at a cost – Should governments stimulate tertiary education for adults?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 69-86.
    13. N. Meltem Daysal & Michael F. Lovenheim & David N. Wasser, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Housing Wealth," NBER Working Papers 31669, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Arenas-Arroyo, Esther & Schmidpeter, Bernhard, 2022. "Spillover effects of immigration policies on children's human capital," Ruhr Economic Papers 974, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    15. Antonio Paolo & Aysit Tansel, 2019. "English skills, labour market status and earnings of Turkish women," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 669-690, November.
    16. Liang Chen & Wanli Li, 2022. "Language acquisition and regional innovation: Evidence from English proficiency in China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 178-191, January.
    17. Arcidiacono, Peter & Kinsler, Josh & Ransom, Tyler, 2022. "Asian American Discrimination in Harvard Admissions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    18. Camilo Andrés Garzón-Correa & Atilio Bustos-González & Melisa López-Hernández & Eduardo Calderón & Oscar Cespedes, 2022. "Challenges and Difficulties in Implementing an Income-Contingent-Financing Model in Higher Education in Colombia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-14, July.
    19. Attanasio, Orazio & Blundell, Richard & Conti, Gabriella & Mason, Giacomo, 2020. "Inequality in socio-emotional skills: A cross-cohort comparison," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    20. Behrman, J. & Parker, S. & Todd, P. & Zhang, W., 2021. "Prospering through Prospera: CCT Impacts on Educational Attainment and Achievement in Mexico," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2178, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    foreign language; literacy; numeracy; returns to education; returns to skills; field-specific; Colombia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • 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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17283. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.