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Do Former College Athletes Earn More at Work? A Nonparametric Assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Henderson, Daniel J.

    (University of Alabama)

  • Olbrecht, Alexandre

    (Ramapo College of New Jersey)

  • Polachek, Solomon

    (Binghamton University, New York)

Abstract

This paper investigates how students' collegiate athletic participation affects their subsequent labor market success. It uses newly developed distributional tests to establish that the wage distribution of former college athletes is significantly different from non-athletes and that athletic participation is a significant determinant of wages. Additionally, by using newly developed techniques in nonparametric regression, it shows that on average former college athletes earn a wage premium. However, the premium is not uniform, but skewed so that more than half the athletes actually earn less than non-athletes. Further, the premium is not uniform across occupations. Athletes earn more in the fields of business, military, and manual labor, but surprisingly, athletes are more likely to become high school teachers, which pays a relatively lower wage to athletes. We conclude that nonpecuniary factors play an important role in occupational choice, at least for many former collegiate athletes.

Suggested Citation

  • Henderson, Daniel J. & Olbrecht, Alexandre & Polachek, Solomon, 2005. "Do Former College Athletes Earn More at Work? A Nonparametric Assessment," IZA Discussion Papers 1882, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1882
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Heckman, James J. & Loughlin, Colleen P., 2021. "Are Student-Athletes Exploited?," IZA Discussion Papers 14857, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Martin Lundin & Oskar Nordström Skans & Pär Zetterberg, 2021. "Leadership Experiences, Labor Market Entry, and Early Career Trajectories," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(2), pages 480-511.
    3. Barbara Kotschwar & Kevin Stahler, 2016. "Level the Playing Field to Bolster the Boardroom: Sports as a Springboard for Women's Labor Force Advancement in Asia," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 11(1), pages 117-134, January.
    4. Lechner, Michael & Fricke, Hans & Steinmayr, Andreas, 2017. "The Effect of Physical Activity on Student Performance in College: An Experimental Evaluation," CEPR Discussion Papers 12052, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Jerome Segura III & Jonathan Willner, 2019. "Athleticism in NCAA D-III: It Ain’t Only Football That Matters," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(7), pages 929-958, October.
    6. Lechner, Michael, 2009. "Long-run labour market and health effects of individual sports activities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 839-854, July.
    7. Zhu, Rong, 2011. "NILS Working paper no 170. The impact of major--job mismatch on college graduates' early career earnings," NILS Working Papers 26072, National Institute of Labour Studies.
    8. Laura Capranica & Mojca Doupona & Ilvis Abelkalns & Ugis Bisenieks & Antonio Sánchez-Pato & Francisco José Cánovas-Alvarez & António J Figueiredo & Juan Alfonso García-Roca & Alejandro Leiva-Arcas & L, 2022. "Understanding dual career views of European university athletes: The more than gold project focus groups," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Müller, Michael, 2015. "Der Zusammenhang zwischen sportlicher (Wettkampf-)Aktivität und kognitiver Leistung," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 1/2015, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.
    10. Daniel R. Marburger, 2015. "How Are Athletic Directors Rewarded in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(3), pages 254-267, April.
    11. Michael Mueller, 2016. "Does Sporting Activity Foster Career Advancement?," Eastern European Business and Economics Journal, Eastern European Business and Economics Studies Centre, vol. 2(4), pages 285-298.
    12. Olbrecht, Alexandre, 2009. "Do academically deficient scholarship athletes earn higher wages subsequent to graduation?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 611-619, October.
    13. P Wesley Routon & Jay K Walker, 2015. "Student-Athletes? The Impact of Intercollegiate Sports Participation on Academic Outcomes," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 41(4), pages 592-611, September.
    14. James D. Paul & Albert A. Cheng & Jay P. Greene & Josh B. McGee, 2023. "The Value of College Athletics in the Labor Market: Results from a Resume Audit Field Experiment," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(3), pages 329-351, April.
    15. Müller, Michael, 2016. "Fördert sportliche Aktivität den beruflichen Aufstieg?," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 02/2016, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.
    16. repec:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/424882 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Zhu, Rong, 2011. "Individual heterogeneity in returns to education in urban China during 1995-2002," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 84-87, October.
    18. Fricke, Hans & Lechner, Michael & Steinmayr, Andreas, 2018. "The effects of incentives to exercise on student performance in college," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 14-39.
    19. Steven Caudill & James Long, 2010. "Do former athletes make better managers? Evidence from a partially adaptive grouped-data regression model," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 275-290, August.
    20. Tao Zou & Yue Zhang & Bo Zhou, 2022. "Does GPA matter for university graduates’ wages? New evidence revisited," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-16, April.
    21. Barbara Kotschwar, 2014. "Women, Sports, and Development: Does It Pay to Let Girls Play?," Policy Briefs PB14-8, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    22. Caruso, Raul, 2011. "Crime and sport participation: Evidence from Italian regions over the period 1997–2003," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 455-463.
    23. Ozkan Eren & Daniel J. Henderson, 2008. "The impact of homework on student achievement," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 11(2), pages 326-348, July.
    24. Michael Müller, 2016. "Der Zusammenhang zwischen sportlicher (Wettkampf-)Aktivität und kognitiver Leistung," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 838, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    nonparametric; generalized Kernel estimation; wage determination; sports economics; earnings; athletics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J40 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - General
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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