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Way station or launching pad? Unpacking the returns to adult technical education

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  • Carruthers, Celeste K.
  • Sanford, Thomas

Abstract

We estimate returns to diplomas and certificates awarded to adult students by public technology centers, a niche sector of higher education that elevates occupational and competency-based education over transferable credits and traditional degrees. Technology centers cater to nontraditional students, particularly adults seeking part-time training in specific skills. Sub-associate credentials arising from Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology increase access to new industries, particularly health, and industrial mobility explains half of the employment returns to postsecondary diplomas and at least three-quarters of the earnings returns to certificates. TCAT diploma completers earn $707–1034 in additional quarterly earnings over non-completers, similar to the returns from community college diplomas. Benefits extend beyond the signal value of completion: students who leave without a credential fare significantly better than matched non-students with a similar history of earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Carruthers, Celeste K. & Sanford, Thomas, 2018. "Way station or launching pad? Unpacking the returns to adult technical education," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 146-159.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:165:y:2018:i:c:p:146-159
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.07.001
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    2. Fabian Sander & Irene Kriesi, 2019. "Medium and Long-Term Returns to Professional Education in Switzerland: Explaining Differences between Occupational Fields," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 136-153.
    3. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    4. Gaulke, Amanda P., 2022. "Returns to bachelor’s degree completion among stopouts," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    5. Darolia, Rajeev & Guo, Chuanyi & Kim, Youngran, 2023. "The Labor Market Returns to Very Short Postsecondary Certificates," IZA Discussion Papers 16081, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Tobias Schultheiss & Uschi Backes‐Gellner, 2023. "Different degrees of skill obsolescence across hard and soft skills and the role of lifelong learning for labor market outcomes," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(3), pages 257-287, July.
    7. Taylor K. Odle & Lauren C. Russell, 2023. "The Impact of Reverse Transfer Associate Degrees on Education and Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(3), pages 648-676, June.
    8. Susan Dynarski & Brian Jacob & Daniel Kreisman, 2018. "How important are fixed effects and time trends in estimating returns to schooling? Evidence from a replication of Jacobson, Lalonde, and Sullivan, 2005," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1098-1108, November.
    9. Berlingieri, Francesco & Bolz, Theresa, 2020. "Earnings of university dropouts across Europe," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-085, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Kauhanen, Antti & Virtanen, Hanna, 2021. "Heterogeneity in Labor Market Returns to Adult Education," ETLA Working Papers 91, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    11. Darolia, Rajeev & Mueser, Peter & Cronin, Jacob, 2021. "Labor market returns to a prison GED," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Lauren Schudde & Meghan Shea, 2022. "Heterogeneity in the Returns to Credits for Public Two-Year College Entrants," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(2), pages 337-367, March.
    13. Gaulke, Amanda P., 2021. "Post-Schooling off-The-Job training and its benefits," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. Anderson, Drew M. & Goldrick-Rab, Sara, 2018. "Aid after enrollment: Impacts of a statewide grant program at public two-year colleges," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 148-157.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Adult education; Returns to education; Technology centers; Industrial mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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