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Educational Attainment and Returns to Education in Germany: An Analysis by Subject of Degree, Gender and Region

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  • Ammermüller, Andreas
  • Weber, Andrea Maria

Abstract

This paper presents evidence on the development of educational attainment and its returns on the labor market in Germany in the time period 1985-2002. Returns to education are estimated using Mincer equations. We analyze microcensus data in addition to GSOEP data, which allows estimating returns to tertiary education separately by subject of degree for the first time for Germany in such detail. The data indicate an educational expansion, especially for women in West Germany, which is coherent with the relatively high returns to this group. One interesting finding is that each gender reaches the highest returns in those fields of study where its shares are relatively high. For women this is in the fields of studies to become teacher, while men lead in law, business and economics and engineering. Additionally, the returns are higher for most degree subjects in West than in East Germany, especially for women.

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  • Ammermüller, Andreas & Weber, Andrea Maria, 2005. "Educational Attainment and Returns to Education in Germany: An Analysis by Subject of Degree, Gender and Region," ZEW Discussion Papers 05-17, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:2907
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    2. Michael Gebel & Friedhelm Pfeiffer, 2010. "Educational Expansion and Its Heterogeneous Returns for Wage Workers," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 130(1), pages 19-42.
    3. Glocker, Daniela & Storck, Johanna, 2014. "Risks and returns to educational fields – A financial asset approach to vocational and academic education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 109-129.
    4. Regina T. Riphahn & Martina Eschelbach & Guido Heineck & Steffen Müller, 2010. "Kosten und Nutzen der Ausbildung an Tertiärbildungsinstitutionen im Vergleich," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11(2), pages 103-131, May.
    5. Ammermueller, Andreas & Kuckulenz, Anja & Zwick, Thomas, 2009. "Aggregate unemployment decreases individual returns to education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 217-226, April.
    6. Frietsch, Rainer & Haller, Inna & Funken-Vrohlings, Melanie & Grupp, Hariolf, 2009. "Gender-specific patterns in patenting and publishing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 590-599, May.
    7. Machin Stephen & Puhani Patrick A., 2005. "Special Issue on the Economics of Education – Policies and Empirical Evidence: Editorial," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(3), pages 259-267, August.
    8. Torben Schubert & Henning Kroll, 2016. "Universities’ effects on regional GDP and unemployment: The case of Germany," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(3), pages 467-489, August.
    9. Ludwig, Volker & Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2005. "Abschreibungsraten allgemeiner und beruflicher Ausbildungsinhalte," ZEW Discussion Papers 05-36, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Lange, Simon & von Werder, Marten, 2017. "Tracking and the intergenerational transmission of education: Evidence from a natural experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 59-78.
    11. Lindov, Dalila, 2020. "Teachers and politics," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Rzepka, Sylvi, 2018. "Labor market returns to college education with vocational qualifications," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 411-431.
    13. Ong, Qiyan & Theseira, Walter, 2016. "Does choosing jobs based on income risk lead to higher job satisfaction in the long run? Evidence from the natural experiment of German reunification," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 95-108.

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