IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nos/voprob/2015i1p137-181.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Starting Salaries for Graduates Measure the Quality of Education? A Review of Studies by Russian and Foreign Authors

Author

Abstract

Sergey Roshchin - Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Vice Rector, Head of the Department of Labor and Population Economics, Head of the Laboratory for Labor Market Studies, National Research University-Higher School of Economics. Email: sroshchin@hse.ru Victor Rudakov - Analyst, Laboratory for Labor Market Studies, Ph.D. student at the Department of Labor and Population Economics, National Research University-Higher School of Economics. Email: victor.n.rudakov@gmail.com Address: 20 Myasnitskaya str., 101000, Moscow, Russian Federation.This paper is a review of oeuvres studying the factors that determine starting salaries of university graduates. The focus is laid upon the works addressing the question: To what extent can starting salaries for graduates be indicative of the quality of education received? We discuss the theoretical conceptions shedding light on the reasons for differences in salaries of fresh graduates: the theory of human capital, the signaling theory of education, the theory of equalizing differences, and empirical studies aimed at measuring the influence various factors have on the size of starting salaries. An analysis of the oeuvres has shown that, despite the important role played by the quality of education, there are many other factors that can have an impact on the salary size. Such factors include diversity of graduates, diversity of jobs, market imperfections, individual preferences of graduates and their strategies of entering the labor market. The provided review and critical analysis of foreign studies designed to assess the correlations between the quality of higher education and the level of starting salaries for graduates allows us to define the general requirements to data quality in case Russia adopts the system of university graduate monitoring.DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2015-1-137-181

Suggested Citation

  • Sergey Roshchin & Victor Rudakov, 2015. "Do Starting Salaries for Graduates Measure the Quality of Education? A Review of Studies by Russian and Foreign Authors," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 137-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:nos:voprob:2015:i:1:p:137-181
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://vo.hse.ru/data/2015/10/02/1074390999/2015-1%20Roszhin-Rudakov%20EN.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ian Walker & Yu Zhu, 2008. "The College Wage Premium and the Expansion of Higher Education in the UK," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(4), pages 695-709, December.
    2. Kevin M. Murphy & Finis Welch, 1992. "The Structure of Wages," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(1), pages 285-326.
    3. Arnaud Chevalier & Joanne Lindley, 2009. "Overeducation and the skills of UK graduates," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 172(2), pages 307-337, April.
    4. Joni Hersch & Leslie S. Stratton, 2000. "Household Specialization and the Male Marriage Wage Premium," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(1), pages 78-94, October.
    5. Massimiliano Bratti & Abigail McKnight & Robin Naylor & Jeremy Smith, 2004. "Higher education outcomes, graduate employment and university performance indicators," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 167(3), pages 475-496, August.
    6. Bauer, Thomas K., 2002. "Educational mismatch and wages: a panel analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 221-229, June.
    7. Séamus McGuinness, 2006. "Overeducation in the Labour Market," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 387-418, July.
    8. Dinand Webbink, 2007. "Returns to University Education: Evidence from a Dutch Institutional Reform," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(293), pages 113-134, February.
    9. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2003. "Understanding International Differences in the Gender Pay Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 106-144, January.
    10. Stacy Dale & Alan B. Krueger, "undated". "Estimating the Return to College Selectivity Over the Career Using Administrative Earning Data," Mathematica Policy Research Reports d76ec29a0bbb4b1bb9d285b5a, Mathematica Policy Research.
    11. Klara Sabirianova Peter, 2003. "Skill-Biased Transition: The Role of Markets, Institutions, and Technological Change," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-616, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    12. Joop Hartog & Luis Díaz-Serrano, 2007. "Earnings risk and demand for higher education: A cross-section test for Spain," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 10, pages 1-28, May.
    13. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1996. "Wage Structure and Gender Earnings Differentials: An International Comparison," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 63(250), pages 29-62, Suppl..
    14. repec:mpr:mprres:6922 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Goldin, Claudia & Polachek, Solomon, 1987. "Residual Differences by Sex: Perspectives on the Gender Gap in Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(2), pages 143-151, May.
    16. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    17. Andrew Weiss, 1995. "Human Capital vs. Signalling Explanations of Wages," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 133-154, Fall.
    18. Tsai, Yuping, 2010. "Returns to overeducation: A longitudinal analysis of the U.S. labor market," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 606-617, August.
    19. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Sabirianova Peter, Klara, 2005. "Returns to schooling in Russia and Ukraine: A semiparametric approach to cross-country comparative analysis," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 324-350, June.
    20. Orley Ashenfelter & Colm Harmon & Hessel Oosterbeek, 1999. "A Review of Estimates of the Schooling/Earnings Relationship, with Tests for Publication Bias," Working Papers 804, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    21. Kostas Mavromaras & Seamus Mcguinness & Nigel O'Leary & Peter Sloane & Yi King Fok, 2010. "The Problem Of Overskilling In Australia And Britain," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 78(3), pages 219-241, June.
    22. O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), 1999. "Handbook of Labor Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 3.
    23. R. Kapeliushnikov., 2013. "Russia’s Human Capital: What Is It Worth?," VOPROSY ECONOMIKI, N.P. Redaktsiya zhurnala "Voprosy Economiki", vol. 2.
    24. Paul Ryan, 2001. "The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective: Corrigendum," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(3), pages 767-767, September.
    25. Ireland, Norman & Naylor, Robin A. & Smith, Jeremy & Telhaj, Shqiponja, 2009. "Educational returns, ability composition and cohort effects: theory and evidence for cohorts of early-career UK graduates," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28608, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    26. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1997. "Swimming Upstream: Trends in the Gender Wage Differential in 1980s," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 1-42, January.
    27. Christian Belzil & Jörgen Hansen, 2004. "Earnings Dispersion, Risk Aversion And Education," Research in Labor Economics, in: Accounting for Worker Well-Being, pages 335-358, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    28. Di Pietro, Giorgio, 2010. "The Impact of Degree Class on the First Destinations of Graduates: A Regression Discontinuity Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 4836, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    29. Peter Gottschalk & Michael Hansen, 2003. "Is the Proportion of College Workers in Noncollege Jobs Increasing?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 409-448, April.
    30. Lois Joy, 2003. "Salaries of Recent Male and Female College Graduates: Educational and Labor Market Effects," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(4), pages 606-621, July.
    31. Maria A. Davia, 2010. "Job Mobility And Wage Growth At The Beginning Of The Professional Career In Spain," Revista de Economia Aplicada, Universidad de Zaragoza, Departamento de Estructura Economica y Economia Publica, vol. 18(1), pages 5-34, Spring.
    32. Jeff Grogger & Eric Eide, 1995. "Changes in College Skills and the Rise in the College Wage Premium," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(2), pages 280-310.
    33. Boudarbat, Brahim & Chernoff, Victor, 2009. "The Determinants of Education-Job Match among Canadian University Graduates," IZA Discussion Papers 4513, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    34. James, Estelle, et al, 1989. "College Quality and Future Earnings: Where Should You Send Your Child to College?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 247-252, May.
    35. Card, David, 1999. "The causal effect of education on earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 30, pages 1801-1863, Elsevier.
    36. van Smoorenburg, M. S. M. & van der Velden, R. K. W., 2000. "The training of school-leavers: Complementarity or substitution?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 207-217, April.
    37. Ermisch, John & Francesconi, Marco, 2001. "Family Matters: Impacts of Family Background on Educational Attainments," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(270), pages 137-156, May.
    38. Joop Hartog & Hans Van Ophem & Simona Maria Bajdechi, 2007. "Simulating the Risk of Investment in Human Capital," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 259-275.
    39. Charlene Kalenkoski & Sabrina Pabilonia, 2010. "Parental transfers, student achievement, and the labor supply of college students," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 469-496, March.
    40. Bosio, Giulio & Leonardi, Marco, 2011. "The Impact of Bologna Process on the Graduate Labour Market: Demand and Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 5789, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    41. Anders Frederiksen & Takao Kato, 2018. "Human Capital and Career Success: Evidence from Linked Employer‐Employee Data," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(613), pages 1952-1982, August.
    42. Robst, John, 2007. "Education and job match: The relatedness of college major and work," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 397-407, August.
    43. Lena Lindahl & Håkan Regnér, 2005. "College Choice and Subsequent Earnings: Results Using Swedish Sibling Data," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 107(3), pages 437-457, September.
    44. Rosella Gardecki & David Neumark, 1998. "Order from Chaos? The Effects of Early Labor Market Experiences on Adult Labor Market Outcomes," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(2), pages 299-322, January.
    45. Rumberger, Russell W., 1984. "The changing economic benefits of college graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 3-11, February.
    46. Iftikhar Hussain & Sandra McNally & Shqiponja Telhaj, 2009. "University Quality and Graduate Wages in the UK," CEE Discussion Papers 0099, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE.
    47. Trond Petersen & Andrew M. Penner & Geir Høgsnes, 2011. "The Male Marital Wage Premium: Sorting Vs. Differential Pay," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(2), pages 283-304, January.
    48. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1979. "Job Matching and the Theory of Turnover," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 972-990, October.
    49. Heijke,Hans & Meng,Christoph & Ramaekers,Ger, 2003. "An investigation into the role of human capital competences and their pay-off," ROA Research Memorandum 001, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    50. Cardoso, Ana Rute, 2007. "Jobs for young university graduates," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 271-277, February.
    51. repec:pri:indrel:dsp01gf06g265z is not listed on IDEAS
    52. Ronald G. Ehrenberg & Daniel R. Sherman, 1987. "Employment While in College, Academic Achievement, and Postcollege Outcomes: A Summary of Results," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(1), pages 1-23.
    53. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    54. Mazza, Jacopo & van Ophem, Hans & Hartog, Joop, 2013. "Unobserved heterogeneity and risk in wage variance: Does more schooling reduce earnings risk?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 323-338.
    55. Dominic J. Brewer & Eric R. Eide & Ronald G. Ehrenberg, 1999. "Does It Pay to Attend an Elite Private College? Cross-Cohort Evidence on the Effects of College Type on Earnings," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(1), pages 104-123.
    56. Groot, Wim & Maassen van den Brink, Henriette, 2000. "Overeducation in the labor market: a meta-analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 149-158, April.
    57. Elena Bardasi & Mark Taylor, 2008. "Marriage and Wages: A Test of the Specialization Hypothesis," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(299), pages 569-591, August.
    58. Ethel B. Jones & John D. Jackson, 1990. "College Grades and Labor Market Rewards," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(2), pages 253-266.
    59. Phelps, Edmund S, 1972. "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 659-661, September.
    60. Лукьянова Анна Львовна, 2010. "Отдача От Образования: Что Показывает Мета-Анализ," Higher School of Economics Economic Journal Экономический журнал Высшей школы экономики, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики», vol. 14(3), pages 326-348.
    61. Ashenfelter, Orley & Harmon, Colm & Oosterbeek, Hessel, 1999. "A review of estimates of the schooling/earnings relationship, with tests for publication bias," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 453-470, November.
    62. Joop Hartog & Luis Diaz-Serrano, 2007. "Earnings Risk and Demand for Higher Education: A Cross-Section Test for Spain," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 1-28, May.
    63. Fox, Marc, 1993. "Is it a good investment to attend an elite private college?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 137-151, June.
    64. Sergey Roshchin & Victor Rudakov, 2014. "Combining Work and Study by Russian Higher Education Institution Students," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 2, pages 152-179.
    65. Card, David, 2001. "Estimating the Return to Schooling: Progress on Some Persistent Econometric Problems," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(5), pages 1127-1160, September.
    66. Eric Eide, 1994. "College Major Choice And Changes In The Gender Wage Gap," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 12(2), pages 55-64, April.
    67. Griliches, Zvi, 1977. "Estimating the Returns to Schooling: Some Econometric Problems," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(1), pages 1-22, January.
    68. Sofia Cheidvasser & Hugo Benítez‐Silva, 2007. "The Educated Russian's Curse: Returns to Education in the Russian Federation during the 1990s," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 21(1), pages 1-41, March.
    69. Mincer, Jacob, 1996. "Economic Development, Growth of Human Capital, and the Dynamics of the Wage Structure," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 29-48, March.
    70. Paul Ryan, 2001. "The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 34-92, March.
    71. Brian E. Becker & Stephen M. Hills, 1983. "The Long-Run Effects of Job Changes and Unemployment among Male Teenagers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 18(2), pages 197-212.
    72. Mavromaras, Kostas & McGuinness, Seamus & O'Leary, Nigel C. & Sloane, Peter J. & Wei, Zhang, 2010. "Job Mismatches and Labour Market Outcomes: Panel Evidence on Australian University Graduates," IZA Discussion Papers 5083, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    73. Brahim Boudarbat & Claude Montmarquette, 2009. "Choice of fields of study of university Canadian graduates: the role of gender and their parents' education," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 185-213.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kseniya Ustinova & Elena Chekmareva, 2016. "Influence of the Level of the Development of Skills on Labour Potential, its Implementation and Choice of Work Position," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(3), pages 726-740.
    2. Yaroslav Kuzminov & Pavel Sorokin & Isak Froumin, 2019. "Generic and Specific Skills as Components of Human Capital: New Challenges for Education Theory and Practice," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(2), pages 19-41.

    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. Inmaculada Garc�a-Mainar & V�ctor M. Montuenga-G�mez, 2017. "Subjective educational mismatch and signalling in Spain," Documentos de Trabajo dt2017-03, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Zaragoza.
    2. Juan Acosta-Ballesteros & María del Pilar Osorno-del Rosal & Olga María Rodríguez-Rodríguez, 2018. "Overeducation of Young Workers in Spain: How Much Does the First Job Matter? Social Indicators Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 109-139, July.
    3. Morsy, Hanan & Mukasa, Adamon, 2019. "Youth Jobs, Skill and Educational Mismatches in Africa," MPRA Paper 100394, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Hanan Morsy & Adamon N. Mukasa, 2019. "Working Paper 326 - Youth Jobs, Skill and Educational Mismatches in Africa," Working Paper Series 2452, African Development Bank.
    5. Khan, Bilal Muhammad, 2019. "Education Occupation Mismatch in Developing countries," MPRA Paper 92324, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Fleisher, Belton M. & Sabirianova, Klara & Wang, Xiaojun, 2005. "Returns to skills and the speed of reforms: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe, China, and Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 351-370, June.
    7. Angel de la Fuente & Antonio Ciccone, 2003. "Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 562.03, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    8. Denis Maguain, 2007. "Les rendements de l'éducation en comparaison internationale," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 180(4), pages 87-106.
    9. Doris Weichselbaumer & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer, 2005. "A Meta‐Analysis of the International Gender Wage Gap," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 479-511, July.
    10. Marco Pecoraro, 2014. "Is There Still a Wage Penalty for Being Overeducated But Well-matched in Skills? A Panel Data Analysis of a Swiss Graduate Cohort," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 28(3), pages 309-337, September.
    11. Thomas Lemieux, 2014. "Occupations, fields of study and returns to education," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1047-1077, November.
    12. Araújo, Isabel & Carneiro, Anabela, 2020. "Educational Mismatches of Newly Hired Workers: Short and Medium-run Effects on Wages," GLO Discussion Paper Series 668, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. 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.
    14. Lauer, Charlotte, 2000. "Gender wage gap in West Germany: how far do gender differences in human capital matter?," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-07, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    15. Isabel ARAÚJO & Anabela CARNEIRO, 2023. "Educational mismatches of newly hired workers: Short‐ and medium‐term effects on wages," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(3), pages 355-383, September.
    16. Colm Harmon & Hessel Oosterbeek & Ian Walker, 2003. "The Returns to Education: Microeconomics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 115-156, April.
    17. Carroll, David & Tani, Massimiliano, 2013. "Over-education of recent higher education graduates: New Australian panel evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 207-218.
    18. Summerfield, Fraser, 2014. "Labor Market Conditions, Skill Requirements and Education Mismatch," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2014-19, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 28 Apr 2014.
    19. Henna Ahsan, 2024. "Impact of Education Mismatch on Earnings: Evidence from Pakistan’s Labor Market," PIDE-Working Papers 2024:1, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    20. David Carroll & Massimiliano Tani, 2015. "Job search as a determinant of graduate over-education: evidence from Australia," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5), pages 631-644, October.

    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:nos:voprob:2015:i:1:p:137-181. 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: Marta Morozova (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://vo.hse.ru/en/ .

    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.