This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Educational Returns, Ability Composition and Cohort Effects: Theory and Evidence for Cohorts of Early-Career UK Graduates

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Norman Ireland
Robin A. Naylor
Jeremy Smith
Shqiponja Telhaj

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

An increase over time in the proportion of young people obtaining a degree is likely to impacton the relative ability compositions (i) of graduates and non-graduates and (ii) acrossgraduates with different classes of degree award. In a signalling framework, we examine theimplications of this on biases across cohorts in estimates of educational returns. In anempirical analysis, we exploit administrative data on whole populations of UK universitystudents for ten graduate cohorts to investigate the extent to which early labour marketoutcomes vary with class of degree awarded. Consistent with our theoretical model, we findthat returns by degree class increased across cohorts during a period of substantial graduateexpansion. We also corroborate the empirical findings with evidence from complementarydata on graduate sample surveys.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0939.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for Economic Performance, LSE in its series CEP Discussion Papers with number dp0939.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Jul 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0939

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/series.asp?prog=CEP

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: Educational Returns; College Wage Premium; Degree Class; Ability Bias; Statistical Discrimination;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. McKinley L. Blackburn & David E. Bloom & Richard B. Freeman, 1989. "The Declining Economic Position of Less-Skilled American Males," NBER Working Papers 3186, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. David Greenaway & Michelle Haynes, 2003. "Funding Higher Education in The UK: The Role of Fees and Loans," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(485), pages F150-F166, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Arnaud Chevalier & Gavan Conlon, 2003. "Does it pay to attend a prestigious university?," Working Papers 200320, School Of Economics, University College Dublin. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Farber, Henry S & Gibbons, Robert, 1996. "Learning and Wage Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(4), pages 1007-47, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Richard Blundell & Lorraine Dearden & Barbara Sianesi, 2005. "Evaluating the effect of education on earnings: models, methods and results from the National Child Development Survey," Journal Of The Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 168(3), pages 473-512. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. McKinley L. Blackburn & David Neumark, 1991. "Omitted-Ability Bias and the Increase in the Return to Schooling," NBER Working Papers 3693, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Arulampalam, W. & Robin A. Naylor & Jeremy P. Smith, 2002. "University of Warwick," Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2002 9, Royal Economic Society.
  8. Heckman, James J. & Lochner, Lance J. & Todd, Petra E., 2006. "Earnings Functions, Rates of Return and Treatment Effects: The Mincer Equation and Beyond," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Arrow, Kenneth J., 1973. "Higher education as a filter," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 193-216, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1998. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed The Labor Market?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1169-1213, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Blundell, Richard, et al, 2000. "The Returns to Higher Education in Britain: Evidence from a British Cohort," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(461), pages F82-99, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Blackburn, McKinley L & Neumark, David, 1995. "Are OLS Estimates of the Return to Schooling Biased Downward? Another Look," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 77(2), pages 217-30, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Smith, Jeremy & McKnight, Abigail & Naylor, Robin, 2000. "Graduate Employability: Policy and Performance in Higher Education in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(464), pages F382-411, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Dolton, Peter J & Makepeace, G H, 1990. "The Earnings of Economics Graduates," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(399), pages 237-50, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Taber, Christopher R, 2001. "The Rising College Premium in the Eighties: Return to College or Return to Unobserved Ability?," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 68(3), pages 665-91, July.
  16. James Heckman & Edward Vytlacil, 2001. "Identifying The Role Of Cognitive Ability In Explaining The Level Of And Change In The Return To Schooling," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(1), pages 1-12, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Joseph G. Altonji & Charles R. Pierret, 2001. "Employer Learning And Statistical Discrimination," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(1), pages 313-350, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Fabian Lange, 2007. "The Speed of Employer Learning," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25, pages 1-35. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Apart from a small start up grant in the 1990's, RePEc has received no funding and lives on the help of volunteers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-18.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.