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The Returns to College(s): Relative Value-Added and Match Effects in Higher Education

Author

Listed:
  • Jack Mountjoy
  • Brent R. Hickman

Abstract

Students who attend different colleges in the U.S. end up with vastly different economic outcomes. We study the role of relative value-added across colleges within student choice sets in producing these outcome disparities. Linking high school, college, and earnings registries spanning the state of Texas, we identify relative college value-added by comparing the outcomes of students who apply to and are admitted by the same set of institutions, as this approach strikingly balances observable student potential across college treatments and renders our extensive set of covariates irrelevant as controls. Methodologically, we develop a framework for identifying and interpreting value-added under varying assumptions about match effects and sorting gains. Empirically, we estimate a relatively tight, though non-degenerate, distribution of relative value-added across the wide diversity of Texas public universities. Selectivity poorly predicts value-added within student choice sets, with only a fleeting selectivity earnings premium fading to zero after a few years in the labor market. Non-peer college inputs like instructional spending more strongly predict value-added, especially conditional on selectivity. Colleges that boost BA completion, especially in STEM majors, also tend to boost earnings. Finally, we probe the potential for (mis)match effects by allowing value-added schedules to vary by student characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Jack Mountjoy & Brent R. Hickman, 2021. "The Returns to College(s): Relative Value-Added and Match Effects in Higher Education," NBER Working Papers 29276, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29276
    Note: CH ED LS PE
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    Cited by:

    1. Fu, Chao & Guo, Junjie & Smith, Adam J. & Sorensen, Alan, 2022. "Students’ heterogeneous preferences and the uneven spatial distribution of colleges," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 49-64.
    2. Alexa Prettyman, 2024. "States of Opportunity for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care," Working Papers 2024-01, Towson University, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2024.
    3. Paolo Martellini & Todd Schoellman & Jason A. Sockin, 2022. "The Global Distribution of College Graduate Quality," Working Papers 791, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    4. Del Bono, Emilia & Fumagalli, Laura & Holford, Angus & Rabe, Birgitta, 2022. "University access: the role of background and COVID-19 throughout the application process," ISER Working Paper Series 2022-07, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    5. Edwards, Ashley & Ortagus, Justin & Smith, Jonathan & Smythe, Andria, 2023. "HBCU Enrollment and Longer-Term Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 16632, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Marco Ovidi, 2022. "Parents Know Better: Sorting on Match Effects in Primary School," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def121, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • 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
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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