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Has the college wage premium continued to rise? Evidence from multiple U.S. surveys

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  • Ashworth, Jared
  • Ransom, Tyler

Abstract

This paper examines trends in the college wage premium (CWP) by birth cohort across the five major household surveys in the United States: the Census/ACS, CPS, NLSY, PSID, and SIPP. We document a general flattening in the CWP for birth cohorts 1970 and onward in each survey and even a decline for birth cohorts 1980–1984 in the NLSY. We discuss potential reasons for this finding and show that the empirical discrepancy is not a function of differences in composition across surveys. Our results provide crucial context for the vast economic literatures that use these surveys to answer important policy questions about intertemporal changes in the returns to skill.

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  • Ashworth, Jared & Ransom, Tyler, 2019. "Has the college wage premium continued to rise? Evidence from multiple U.S. surveys," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 149-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:69:y:2019:i:c:p:149-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.02.003
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    5. Gaulke, Amanda P., 2022. "Returns to bachelor’s degree completion among stopouts," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Michael Kaganovich & Morgan Taylor & Ruli Xiao, 2021. "Gender Differences in Persistence in a Field of Study," CESifo Working Paper Series 9087, CESifo.
    7. Griffith, Amanda L. & Sovero, Veronica, 2021. "Under pressure: How faculty gender and contract uncertainty impact students’ grades," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Buchmueller, Gerda & Walker, Ian, 2020. "The Graduate Wage and Earnings Premia and the Role of Non-Cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 13248, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Yousef Makhlouf & Christopher Lalley, 2023. "Education Expansion, Income Inequality and Structural Transformation: Evidence From OECD Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 255-281, September.
    10. Leila Bengali & Marcus Sander & Robert G. Valletta & Cindy Zhao, 2023. "Falling College Wage Premiums by Race and Ethnicity," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, vol. 2023(22), pages 1-6, August.
    11. Boero, Gianna & Nathwani, Tej & Naylor, Robin & Smith, Jeremy, 2021. "Graduate Earnings Premia in the UK : Decline and Fall?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1387, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    College wage premium; Returns to education;

    JEL classification:

    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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