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What wages do people expect for vocational and academic education backgrounds in Switzerland?

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  • Maria A. Cattaneo

Abstract

Correctly anticipating the earnings for different educational profiles is pivotal in making informed education decisions. In this paper, leveraging unique survey data, we study the wage expectations for academic and vocational education backgrounds in Switzerland. We find significant heterogeneity in the expected wage distributions for given educational profiles and strong differences in wage beliefs by gender, age, socioeconomic status, region of residence, and migration background. Personal reference points seem to matter in forming these wage expectations, and more than half of the respondents overestimate the returns to academic versus vocational education, especially the returns expected at younger ages. The latter is vital for education policy because our analyses show that the expected returns determine preferences for specific educational tracks for the own (hypothetical) child. If education decisions are illinformed, this likely leads to educational mismatches and related adverse effects later in life.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria A. Cattaneo, 2022. "What wages do people expect for vocational and academic education backgrounds in Switzerland?," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0197, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    • Handle: RePEc:iso:educat:0197
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wage expectations; educational preferences; biased beliefs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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