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The Effect of College Curriculum on Earnings: Accounting for Non-Ignorable Non-Response Bias

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Author Info
Daniel S. Hamermesh
Stephen G. Donald

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Abstract

We link information on the current earnings of college graduates from many cohorts to their high-school records, their detailed college records and their demographics to infer the impact of college major on earnings. We develop an estimator to handle the potential for non-response bias and identify non-response using an affinity measure -- the potential respondent's link to the organization conducting the survey. This technique is generally applicable for adjusting for unit non-response. In the model describing earnings, estimated using the identified (for non-response bias) selectivity adjustments, adjusted earnings differentials across college majors are less than half as large as unadjusted differentials and ten percent smaller than those that do not account for selective non-response.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 10809.

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Date of creation: Oct 2004
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10809

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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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. Mitali Das & Whitney K. Newey & Francis Vella, 2003. "Nonparametric Estimation of Sample Selection Models," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 70(1), pages 33-58, January.
  2. Wise, David A, 1975. "Academic Achievement and Job Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 350-66, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Ahn, Hyungtaik & Powell, James L., 1993. "Semiparametric estimation of censored selection models with a nonparametric selection mechanism," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 3-29, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Sarah E. Turner & William G. Bowen, 1999. "Choice of major: The changing (unchanging) gender gap," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 52(2), pages 289-313, January.
  5. Olsen, Randall J, 1980. "A Least Squares Correction for Selectivity Bias," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(7), pages 1815-20, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Biddle, Jeff E & Zarkin, Gary A, 1989. "Choice among Wage-Hours Packages: An Empirical Investigation of Male Labor Supply," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(4), pages 415-37, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Arcidiacono, Peter, 2004. "Ability sorting and the returns to college major," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 343-375. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Philipson, Tomas, 1997. "Data Markets and the Production of Surveys," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 64(1), pages 47-72, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, 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. Johansson, Fredrik, 2007. "How to Adjust for Nonignorable Nonresponse: Calibration, Heckit or FIML?," Working Paper Series 2007:22, Uppsala University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Christopher Cornwell & Kyung Hee Lee & David B. Mustard, 2006. "The Effects of State-Sponsored Merit Scholarships on Course Selection and Major Choice in College," IZA Discussion Papers 1953, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2005. "The Value of Peripatetic Economists: A Sesqui-Difference Evaluation of Bob Gregory," NBER Working Papers 11453, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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