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Estimating the Returns to Schooling Using Cohort-Level Maternal Education as an Instrument

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  • Winters, John V.

    (Iowa State University)

Abstract

Formal education is widely thought to be a major determinant of individual earnings. This paper uses the American Community Survey to examine the effect of formal schooling on worker wages. Given the potential endogeneity of education decisions, I instrument for individual schooling using cohort-level mean maternal years of schooling from previous decennial censuses. The instrumental variables results suggest that schooling has a significant positive effect on worker wages. Specifically, an additional year or schooling is estimated to increase hourly wages by 10 percent for men and 12.6 percent for women.

Suggested Citation

  • Winters, John V., 2014. "Estimating the Returns to Schooling Using Cohort-Level Maternal Education as an Instrument," IZA Discussion Papers 8616, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8616
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), 2011. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 4, June.
    2. Jere R. Behrman & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2002. "Does Increasing Women's Schooling Raise the Schooling of the Next Generation?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 323-334, March.
    3. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2004. "Returns to investment in education: a further update," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 111-134.
    4. Card, David, 1999. "The causal effect of education on earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 30, pages 1801-1863, Elsevier.
    5. Winters, John V., 2014. "The Production and Stock of College Graduates for U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 8730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Björklund, Anders & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2011. "Education and Family Background: Mechanisms and Policies," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 3, pages 201-247, Elsevier.
    7. Hoogerheide, Lennart & Block, Joern H. & Thurik, Roy, 2012. "Family background variables as instruments for education in income regressions: A Bayesian analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 515-523.
    8. Block Joern H. & Hoogerheide Lennart & Thurik Roy, 2012. "Are Education and Entrepreneurial Income Endogenous? A Bayesian Analysis," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 2(3), pages 1-29, July.
    9. O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), 1999. "Handbook of Labor Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 3.
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    Cited by:

    1. Reilee L. Berger & John V. Winters, 2016. "Does Private Schooling Increase Adult Earnings? Cohort-Level Evidence for U.S. States," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 46(3), pages 281-294, Winter.
    2. John V. Winters, 2018. "Do higher college graduation rates increase local education levels?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(3), pages 617-638, August.
    3. Raymond B. Frempong & David Stadelmann, 2017. "Does Female Education have a Bargaining Effect on Household Welfare? Evidence from Ghana and Uganda," CREMA Working Paper Series 2017-08, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    4. Winters, John V., 2020. "Problem on the Plains: College Earnings Premiums in Small Metropolitan Areas," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 51(1), December.
    5. Kunwon Ahn & John V. Winters, 2023. "Does education enhance entrepreneurship?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 717-743, August.
    6. Winters, John V., 2014. "The Production and Stock of College Graduates for U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 8730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Martin Mulwa & Timothy Gichana, 2020. "Does education reduce gender differentials in labor market participation? A Kenyan perspective," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 446-458, September.
    8. Daniel J. Henderson & Anne-Charlotte Souto & Le Wang, 2020. "Higher-Order Risk–Returns to Education," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, October.
    9. Si Wang & Qingqing Yang, 2022. "Does weight impact adolescent mental health? Evidence from China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(10), pages 2269-2286, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human capital; education; returns to schooling; wages; maternal education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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