IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolet/v189y2020ics0165176520300665.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Estimating years of education using the current population survey after 2014

Author

Listed:
  • Hersch, Joni
  • Mendoza Lopez, Fernando
  • Shinall, Jennifer Bennett

Abstract

In 2015, the Current Population Survey (CPS) eliminated three questions related to educational attainment. These now-eliminated questions continue to be used by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to calculate their years of education variable in their Merged Outgoing Rotation Groups (MORG) extracts. We demonstrate that the NBER imputation method after 2014 results in missing values for imputed education for 27.5% of the observations and average years of education of about 1.1 fewer years. We provide coding that can be used with the current CPS questions to allow comparison of years of education over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Hersch, Joni & Mendoza Lopez, Fernando & Shinall, Jennifer Bennett, 2020. "Estimating years of education using the current population survey after 2014," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:189:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520300665
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109058
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176520300665
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109058?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jaeger, David A., 2003. "Estimating the returns to education using the newest current population survey education questions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(3), pages 385-394, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Melissa Clark & David Jaeger, 2006. "Natives, the foreign-born and high school equivalents: new evidence on the returns to the GED," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 769-793, October.
    2. Michael S. Christian, 2014. "Human Capital Accounting in the United States: Context, Measurement, and Application," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Economic Sustainability and Progress, pages 461-491, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Fabián Slonimczyk, 2013. "Earnings inequality and skill mismatch in the U.S.: 1973–2002," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(2), pages 163-194, June.
    4. Michael S. Christian, 2011. "Human Capital Accounting in the United States: Context, Measurement, and Application," BEA Working Papers 0073, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    5. Harley Frazis & Mark A. Loewenstein, 2005. "Reexamining the Returns to Training: Functional Form, Magnitude, and Interpretation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(2).
    6. Richard B. Freeman & William M. Rodgers, 2005. "The weak jobs recovery: whatever happened to \\"the great American jobs machine\\"?," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Aug, pages 3-18.
    7. William Rodgers & John Holmes, 2004. "New estimates of within occupation African American-white wage gaps," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 69-88, June.
    8. Melissa A. Clark & David Jaeger, 2002. "Natives, the Foreign-Born and High School Equivalents: New Evidence on the Returns to the GED," Working Papers 841, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    9. Gustavsson, Magnus, 2004. "Changes in Educational Wage Premiums in Sweden: 1992-2001," Working Paper Series 2004:10, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Current population survey; Education; Missing data; Coding errors; Merged outgoing rotation groups; NBER;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General
    • C8 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:189:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520300665. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolet .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.