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Is there a Hidden Technical Potential

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Author Info
Hessel Oosterbeek () (University of Amsterdam)
Dinand Webbink (University of Amsterdam)

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the determinants of choosing a technical study at university level and of persistence in it. We find that - in the Netherlands - there is a low correlation between the probability of a student choosing a technical study and the probability of persistence in it. This implies that a substantial number of technically talented people choose non-technical studies. Especially female students and students from high income families are unlikely to attend a technical study but these students are relatively successful in such studies. A large fraction of these technically talented students are attracted to medical studies and law schools, where they are no more likely to persist in these schools than other medical and law students. This finding is predicted by the tournament model in which rewards are based on relative performance instead of absolute performance.

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Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 97-012/3.

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Date of creation: 28 Jan 1997
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:19970012

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  1. Edward P. Lazear & Sherwin Rosen, 1981. "Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts," NBER Working Papers 0401, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Kenny, Lawrence W, et al, 1979. "Returns to College Education: An Investigation of Self-Selection Bias Based on the Project Talent Data," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 20(3), pages 775-89, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Mark C. Berger, 1988. "Predicted future earnings and choice of college major," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 41(3), pages 418-429, April.
  4. Zarkin, Gary A, 1985. "Occupational Choice: An Application to the Market for Public School Teachers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 409-46, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Colm Harmon; & Ian Walker, 1995. "Estimates of Economic Return to Schooling in the UK," Economics, Finance and Accounting Department Working Paper Series n540195, Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, National University of Ireland - Maynooth.
  6. Willis, Robert J & Rosen, Sherwin, 1979. "Education and Self-Selection," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages S7-36, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Venti, Steven F. & Wise, David A., 1983. "Individual attributes and self-selection of higher education : College attendance versus college completion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1-32, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Garen, John, 1984. "The Returns to Schooling: A Selectivity Bias Approach with a Continuous Choice Variable," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(5), pages 1199-1218, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Freeman, Richard B, 1975. "Legal "Cobwebs": A Recursive Model of the Market for New Lawyers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 57(2), pages 171-79, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Zabalza, A, 1979. "The Determinants of Teacher Supply," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(1), pages 131-47, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Rosen, Sherwin, 1992. "The Market for Lawyers," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(2), pages 215-46, October.
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  12. Harmon, C & Ian Walker, 1995. "Estimates of the economic return to schooling for the UK," IFS Working Papers W95/12, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
  13. Van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M. & Van Praag, Bernard M. S., 1981. "The demand for deductibles in private health insurance : A probit model with sample selection," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 229-252, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Murphy, Kevin M & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1991. "The Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(2), pages 503-30, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Trost, Robert P & Lee, Lung-Fei, 1984. "Technical Training and Earnings: A Polychotomous Choice Model with Selectivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 66(1), pages 151-56, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Massimiliano Bratti, 2006. "Social Class and Undergraduate Degree Subject in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 1979, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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