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The Effect of Labor Market Information on Community College Students’ Major Choice

Author

Listed:
  • Baker, Rachel
  • Bettinger, Eric
  • Jacob, Brian
  • Marinescu, Ioana

Abstract

An important goal of community colleges is to prepare students for the labor market. But are students aware of the labor market outcomes in different majors? And how much do students weigh labor market outcomes when choosing a major? In this study we find that less than 15% of a sample of community college students in California rank broad categories of majors accurately in terms of labor market outcomes. Students believe that salaries are 13% higher than they actually are, on average, and students underestimate the probability of being employed by almost 25%. We find that the main determinants of major choice are beliefs about course enjoyment and grades, but expected labor market outcomes also matter. Experimental estimates of the impact of expected labor market outcomes are larger than OLS estimates and show that a 10% increase in salary is associated with a 14 to 18% increase in the probability of choosing a specific category of majors.

Suggested Citation

  • Baker, Rachel & Bettinger, Eric & Jacob, Brian & Marinescu, Ioana, 2018. "The Effect of Labor Market Information on Community College Students’ Major Choice," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 18-30.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:65:y:2018:i:c:p:18-30
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.05.005
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    I21; I23; J01; J18; J30;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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