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Rates of Return to Education: The View of Students in Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Wolter, Stefan C.

    (University of Bern)

  • Zbinden, André

    (affiliation not available)

Abstract

Wage expectations are important determinants for individual schooling decisions. However, research on individual expectations of students is scarce. The paper presents the Swiss results of a survey that was conducted in 10 European countries. Its main findings are that point estimates of wages after graduation are close to actual wages, whereas the expectations of the wage gain in the first ten years of professional experience exceed the actual wage gains significantly. While most of the deviation of individual expectations from actual wages can not be explained, we find that rates of return to education that are calculated on the base of individual wage and cost expectations as well as individual time preferences can be explained partially by the seniority of students, the self-perception of their academic performance and their subjective job perspectives. The high degree of unexplained heterogeneity in individual expectations and the differences between groups of students show the necessity to analyse the question further with bigger and more representative samples.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolter, Stefan C. & Zbinden, André, 2001. "Rates of Return to Education: The View of Students in Switzerland," IZA Discussion Papers 371, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp371
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ilya Prakhov, 2017. "Determinants of Expected Return on Higher Education in Moscow," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 25-57.
    2. Stefanescu, Razvan & Dumitriu, Ramona & Nistor, Costel, 2011. "Motivations for the Bessarabian youth to study in Romanian universities," MPRA Paper 41621, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 02 Oct 2011.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wages; Rates of return to education; expectations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • 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

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