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Should I get a master’s degree?

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  • Chesney, Alexander J.

Abstract

This paper examines workplace peer effects on advanced education attainment. Using administrative data from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and conditional exogeneous assignment of employees to workplace, I provide empirical evidence that coworkers’ education investment behavior increases the likelihood of using Employer-Provided Educational Assistance (EPEA) benefits to start and eventually complete a graduate degree. I find a 10 percentage point (p.p.) increase in the proportion of peers using Tuition Assistance (TA) increases the probability of starting a master’s degree by 4.99 p.p. Additionally, a 10 p.p. increase in the proportion of coworkers that have finished an advanced degree increases completion rates by 2.71 p.p. within eight years in the organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Chesney, Alexander J., 2022. "Should I get a master’s degree?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:91:y:2022:i:c:s0272775722001029
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102329
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Peer effects; Student financial aid; Master’s degrees;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models

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