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Does It Pay to Graduate from an 'Elite' University in Australia?

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  • David Carroll
  • Chris Heaton
  • Massimiliano Tani

Abstract

In Australia, the so‐called Group of Eight (Go8) elite research universities have lower student‐to‐staff ratios, better‐qualified staff, superior research outcomes, and generally better placement in university rankings than non‐Go8 universities. In this paper, we use data from the Graduate Destination Survey and data on Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs) to investigate the existence of Go8 premia in the Australian graduate labour market, and to determine the extent to which they are due merely to the recruitment of better students. We find statistically significant evidence of small Go8 premia which are largely, but not entirely, due to the selection of above average ATAR students.

Suggested Citation

  • David Carroll & Chris Heaton & Massimiliano Tani, 2019. "Does It Pay to Graduate from an 'Elite' University in Australia?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 95(310), pages 343-357, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:95:y:2019:i:310:p:343-357
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-4932.12492
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    Cited by:

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    2. Edwards, Rebecca & Gibson, Rachael & Harmon, Colm & Schurer, Stefanie, 2022. "First-in-their-family students at university: Can non-cognitive skills compensate for social origin?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Schwerter, Jakob, 2020. "Impact of universities in a flat hierarchy: Do degrees from top universities lead to a higher wage?," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224583, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Bordón, Paola & Braga, Breno, 2020. "Employer learning, statistical discrimination and university prestige," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Elisa R. Birch & Alison C. Preston, 2021. "The Evolving Wage Structure of Young Adults in Australia: 2001 to 2019," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 97(318), pages 365-386, September.
    6. Carroll, David & Parasnis, Jaai & Tani, Massimiliano, 2018. "Teaching, Gender and Labour Market Incentives," IZA Discussion Papers 12027, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Prakhov, Ilya, 2023. "Indicators of higher education quality and salaries of university graduates in Russia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Carroll David & Parasnis Jaai & Tani Massimiliano, 2021. "Why do women become teachers while men don’t?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 793-823, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A23 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Graduate
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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