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Relevance of Education to Occupation: A New Empirical Approach Based on College Courses

Author

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  • Hadavand, Aboozar

    (Johns Hopkins University)

  • Thomas, Sarah M
  • Almasi, Pooya
  • Gharehgozli, Orkideh

Abstract

We introduce a new approach to measuring the match between education and occupation by using the number of college courses related to one’s occupation. Previous studies have only considered the match between college “major” and occupation. This approach ignores the content of education and the courses taken in college. We find that taking courses in college that are relevant to one’s occupation is significantly associated with higher wages, which can be taken as evidence against the notion that returns to college are principally a matter of signaling. We further find that performing well in these courses is associated with an even higher wage premium. A student’s wage increases, on average, by 1.6–2.9 percent for each matched course. This effect increases to 2.3–3.8 percent when we use a grade weighted measure of match.

Suggested Citation

  • Hadavand, Aboozar & Thomas, Sarah M & Almasi, Pooya & Gharehgozli, Orkideh, 2019. "Relevance of Education to Occupation: A New Empirical Approach Based on College Courses," OSF Preprints 8ysgz_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:8ysgz_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/8ysgz_v1
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