Author
Listed:
- Ronny Freier
- Moritz Schubert
- Mathias Schumann
- Thomas Siedler
Abstract
Higher education is usually associated with a higher income. While this effect can be verified by examining the extent and duration of an individual’s education and training, the question of whether better academic performance is also linked with higher income is more difficult to answer. This weekly report examines whether law students achieve honors in their first state examination affects their future income. The analysis shows a clear, statistically detectable positive effect relatively early in the lawyers’ career profiles. Interestingly, the effect remains significant even when control variables such as school grades and parental occupations are taken into account. Six years after the first state examination, the income growth connected solely to the achievement of honors amounted to 13 to 14 percent. The special signal effect of graduating with honors is apparent in the field of law: the fact that good academic performance does not have a demonstrable effect on income in other professions is evidence of this. Essentially, a connection between graduating with honors and a higher income is to be expected; what is surprising is the magnitude of this relationship. Höhere Bildung wird gemeinhin mit einem höheren Einkommen assoziiert. Während sich dieser Effekt für zusätzliche Schul- und Ausbildungsjahre leicht nachweisen lässt, ist die Frage, ob auch bessere Studienleistungen mit einem höheren Verdienst verbunden sind, nicht so einfach zu beantworten. Dieser Wochenbericht untersucht den Effekt des Prädikats im ersten Staatsexamen, das Studierende der Rechtswissenschaften erlangen können, auf das Einkommen. Die Analyse zeigt einen deutlichen, statistisch nachweisbaren positiven Effekt schon relativ früh in der Erwerbsbiografie der Juristinnen und Juristen. Interessanterweise bleibt der Effekt auch dann bedeutsam, wenn in die statistische Analyse Kontrollvariablen wie die Abiturnote und die elterlichen Berufe einfließen. Sechs Jahre nach dem ersten Staatsexamen beträgt der Einkommenszuwachs allein durch das Prädikat 13 bis 14 Prozent. Hier zeigt sich die besondere Signalwirkung des Prädikatsexamens. Dies wird insbesondere dadurch deutlich, dass sich bei anderen Berufsgruppen für gute Studienleistungen keine besonderen Einkommenseffekte nachweisen lassen. Grundsätzlich ist ein Zusammenhang zwischen einem Prädikat und einem höheren Einkommen zu erwarten. Überraschend ist aber die Größenordnung des Effekts.
Suggested Citation
Ronny Freier & Moritz Schubert & Mathias Schumann & Thomas Siedler, 2016.
"Jura-Prädikat hat eine stark positive Signalwirkung auf das Einkommen,"
DIW Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 83(26), pages 567-571.
Handle:
RePEc:diw:diwwob:83-26-3
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More about this item
Keywords
honor degree;
income;
law;
All these keywords.
JEL classification:
- J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
- J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
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