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Escaping into a master's degree in times of crisis? Master's degree applications and enrolment over the business cycle

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  • Ulvestad, Marte E.S.
  • Skjelbred, Siv-Elisabeth

Abstract

The consequences of graduating in a recession could be severe and long-lasting. Bachelor's graduates can, however, avoid entering the labour market by continuing their education. Using a Norwegian dataset containing information on all graduates and their applications to and enrolment in master's degree programmes over a 15-year period, we find that a one percentage point increase in the field-specific unemployment rate results in a 6.5 percentage points increase in applications and a 3.9 percentage points increase in enrolment. Moreover, using a survey of the 2020 bachelor's graduates cohort, that is, the Covid-19 cohort, we find evidence indicating that those pushed into a master's degree by conditions in the labour market differ substantially from those whose decision to enrol in a master's degree is not driven by labour market conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ulvestad, Marte E.S. & Skjelbred, Siv-Elisabeth, 2023. "Escaping into a master's degree in times of crisis? Master's degree applications and enrolment over the business cycle," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:94:y:2023:i:c:s0272775723000511
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102404
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Application; Enrolment; Business cycles; Bachelor's graduates; COVID-19 recession;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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