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Higher-Education Policies and the College Wage Premium: Cross-State Evidence from the 1990s

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Listed author(s):
  • Nicole M. Fortin

Abstract

Exploiting differences across U.S. states, this paper demonstrates that there is a tight link between higher education policies, past enrollment rates, and recent changes in the college wage premium among labor market entrants. The analysis reveals, however, that this relationship is much weaker in states with high private enrollment rates, high levels of interstate mobility, or interstate trade. The withinstate estimates of the own-cohort relative supply effect shed some light on the extent to which the U.S. labor market can be characterized as a single national market or a collection of state-specific labor markets. (JEL I21, I28, J22, J24, J31, R23)

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Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 96 (2006)
Issue (Month): 4 (September)
Pages: 959-987

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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:96:y:2006:i:4:p:959-987
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.96.4.959
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Keywords:

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
  • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
  • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • 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
  • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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  1. Gordon B. Dahl, 2002. "Mobility and the Return to Education: Testing a Roy Model with Multiple Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(6), pages 2367-2420, November.
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Cited by:

  1. Damon, Amy & Glewwe, Paul, 2011. "Valuing the benefits of the education provided by public universities: A case study of Minnesota," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1242-1261.
  2. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Mori, Yuko, 2016. "Why has wage inequality evolved so differently between Japan and the US? The role of the supply of college-educated workers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 29-50.
  3. Emilia Del Bono & Andrea Weber, 2008. "Do Wages Compensate for Anticipated Working Time Restrictions? Evidence from Seasonal Employment in Austria," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26, pages 181-221.
  4. Lindley, Joanne & Machin, Stephen, 2014. "Spatial changes in labour market inequality," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 121-138.
  5. Bratti, Massimiliano & Leombruni, Roberto, 2009. "Local Human Capital Externalities and Wages at the Firm Level: The Case of Italian Manufacturing," IZA Discussion Papers 4613, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  6. KAWAGUCHI Daiji & MORI Yuko, 2014. "Winning the Race against Technology," Discussion papers 14017, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
  7. Martín Rossi & Christian Ruzzier, 2015. "Career Choices and the Evolution of the College Gender Gap," Working Papers 120, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Mar 2015.
  8. Matthew T. Johnson, 2010. "Borrowing Constraints, College Enrollment, and Delayed Entry," Working Papers 2011-006, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group, revised Sep 2012.
  9. Richard Blundell & David A. Green & Wenchao (Michelle) Jin, 2016. "The UK wage premium puzzle: how did a large increase in university graduates leave the education premium unchanged?," IFS Working Papers W16/01, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
  10. Matthew T. Johnson, 2013. "Borrowing Constraints, College Enrollment, and Delayed Entry," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(4), pages 669-725.
  11. Oriana Bandiera & Valentino Larcinese & Imran Rasul, 2010. "Heterogeneous Class Size Effects: New Evidence from a Panel of University Students," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(549), pages 1365-1398, December.
  12. Pedro Carneiro & Sokbae Lee, 2011. "Trends in Quality-Adjusted Skill Premia in the United States, 1960-2000," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2309-2349, October.
  13. Parent, Olivier & LeSage, James P., 2012. "Spatial dynamic panel data models with random effects," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 727-738.
  14. Peter McHenry, 2014. "The Geographic Distribution Of Human Capital: Measurement Of Contributing Mechanisms," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 215-248, 03.

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