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Heterogeneities in the returns to degrees: evidence from the British cohort study 1970

Author

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  • Massimiliano BRATTI
  • Robin NAYLOR
  • Jeremy SMITH

Abstract

Estimates of a high average return to a degree for UK graduates have provided a policy rationale for increasing the share of the costs of higher education borne by UK students over recent decades. We use evidence from a cohort of people born in 1970 to estimate hourly wage returns to a university degree. We analyse the extent of variations around average returns, focussing on heterogeneity in returns by factors such as: gender, degree subject studied, degree class awarded, student ability measures and family background. Among other results, we find substantial evidence of heterogeneous returns to a first degree according to subject area of study and class of degree awarded.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimiliano BRATTI & Robin NAYLOR & Jeremy SMITH, 2008. "Heterogeneities in the returns to degrees: evidence from the British cohort study 1970," Departmental Working Papers 2008-40, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    • Handle: RePEc:mil:wpdepa:2008-40
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. The tuition fees debate: a debt-for-equity suggestion
      by Ronan Lyons in Ronan Lyons on 2011-06-14 11:00:38

    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Di Paolo, Antonio & Tansel, Aysit, 2017. "Analyzing Wage Differentials by Fields of Study: Evidence from Turkey," GLO Discussion Paper Series 91, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Claire Crawford, 2014. "Socio-economic differences in university outcomes in the UK: drop-out, degree completion and degree class," IFS Working Papers W14/31, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. Chris Belfield & Laura van der Erve, 2018. "The impact of higher education on the living standards of female graduates," IFS Working Papers W18/25, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    5. Ilias Livanos & Konstantinos Pouliakas, 2011. "Wage returns to university disciplines in Greece: are Greek higher education degrees Trojan Horses?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 411-445, December.
    6. Massimiliano Bratti & Alfonso Miranda, 2010. "Non‐pecuniary returns to higher education: the effect on smoking intensity in the UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(8), pages 906-920, August.
    7. Denny, Kevin & Doyle, Orla & McMullin, Patricia & O'Sullivan, Vincent, 2014. "Money, mentoring and making friends: The impact of a multidimensional access program on student performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 167-182.
    8. Di Paolo, Antonio & Tansel, Aysit, 2017. "Analyzing Wage Differentials by Fields of Study: Evidence from Turkey," GLO Discussion Paper Series 91, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Ireland, Norman & Naylor, Robin A. & Smith, Jeremy & Telhaj, Shqiponja, 2009. "Educational returns, ability composition and cohort effects: theory and evidence for cohorts of early-career UK graduates," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28608, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Elizabeth Knight, 2019. "Massification, Marketisation and Loss of Differentiation in Pre-Entry Marketing Materials in UK Higher Education," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Claire Crawford & Anna Vignoles, 2014. "Heterogeneity in graduate earnings by socio-economic background," IFS Working Papers W14/30, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    12. Naylor, Robin A. & Smith, Jeremy, 2009. "Ability Bias, Skewness and the College Wage Premium," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 907, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    13. Jake Anders, 2012. "Using the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England for research into Higher Education access," DoQSS Working Papers 12-13, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    14. Leszek Wincenciak, 2016. "Educational mismatches and earnings in Poland: are graduates penalised for being overeducated?," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 46.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Degree; return; subject; UK; university;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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