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The Wage Effects of Not-for-Profit and For-Profit Certifications: Better Data, Somewhat Different Results

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  • Kevin Lang
  • Russell Weinstein

Abstract

Using the Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey and Transcript Data, we find no statistically significant differential return to certificate or Associate's degrees between for-profits and not-for-profits. Point estimates suggest a slightly lower return to a for-profit certificate and a slightly higher return to a for-profit Associate's degree, largely because more students at not-for-profits earn a BA, making them less likely to have only an Associate's degree. There is considerable variation in the return to certificates/degrees across majors, including many with negligible or negative returns. Differences across fields are large relative to differences across institution types.

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  • Kevin Lang & Russell Weinstein, 2013. "The Wage Effects of Not-for-Profit and For-Profit Certifications: Better Data, Somewhat Different Results," NBER Working Papers 19135, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19135
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    Cited by:

    1. Rajeev Darolia & Cory Koedel & Paco Martorell & Katie Wilson & Francisco Perez‐Arce, 2015. "Do Employers Prefer Workers Who Attend For‐Profit Colleges? Evidence from a Field Experiment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 881-903, September.
    2. Russell Weinstein, 2022. "Local Labor Markets and Human Capital Investments," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(5), pages 1498-1525.
    3. Jepsen, Christopher & Mueser, Peter R. & Troske, Kenneth & Jeon, Kyung-Seong, 2023. "Estimates of Earnings Returns by Field of Study for For-Profit Schools and Community Colleges," IZA Discussion Papers 16568, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Gilpin, Gregory A. & Saunders, Joseph & Stoddard, Christiana, 2015. "Why has for-profit colleges’ share of higher education expanded so rapidly? Estimating the responsiveness to labor market changes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 53-63.
    5. Armona, Luis & Chakrabarti, Rajashri & Lovenheim, Michael F., 2022. "Student debt and default: The role of for-profit colleges," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 67-92.
    6. Cellini, Stephanie Riegg & Chaudhary, Latika, 2014. "The labor market returns to a for-profit college education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-140.
    7. Luis Armona & Rajashri Chakrabarti & Michael F. Lovenheim, 2018. "How Does For-profit College Attendance Affect Student Loans, Defaults and Labor Market Outcomes?," NBER Working Papers 25042, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Stephanie Riegg Cellini & Nicholas Turner, 2019. "Gainfully Employed?: Assessing the Employment and Earnings of For-Profit College Students Using Administrative Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(2), pages 342-370.
    9. Christopher Jepsen & Peter Mueser & Kyung-Seong Jeon, 2016. "The Benefits of Alternatives to Conventional College: Labor-Market Returns to Proprietary Schooling," Working Papers 1607, Department of Economics, University of Missouri.
    10. Rajeev Darolia, 2015. "Messengers of Bad News or Bad Apples? Student Debt and College Accountability," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 10(2), pages 277-299, March.
    11. Stephanie R. Cellini & Rajeev Darolia & Lesley J. Turner, 2020. "Where Do Students Go When For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 46-83, May.
    12. Böckerman, Petri & Haapanen, Mika & Jepsen, Christopher, 2015. "Back to School? Labor-Market Returns to Vocational Postsecondary Education," IZA Discussion Papers 9079, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Jennifer L. Steele & Peter Buryk & Geoffrey McGovern, 2018. "Student Veterans’ Outcomes by Higher Education Sector: Evidence from Three Cohorts of the Baccalaureate and Beyond," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(7), pages 866-896, November.
    14. Matthew S. Rutledge & Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher & Francis M. Vitagliano, 2016. "How Does Student Debt Affect Early-Career Retirement Saving?," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2016-9, Center for Retirement Research.
    15. Gregory Gilpin & Michael Kofoed, 2020. "Employer-Sponsored Education Assistance and Graduate Program Choice, Cost, and Finance," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 61(4), pages 431-458, June.
    16. Lau, Christopher V., 2020. "Are federal student loan accountability regulations effective?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    17. Gaulke, Amanda P., 2021. "Post-Schooling off-The-Job training and its benefits," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    18. Stephanie Riegg Cellini & Rajeev Darolia, 2017. "High Costs, Low Resources, and Missing Information: Explaining Student Borrowing in the For-Profit Sector," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 671(1), pages 92-112, May.
    19. Webber, Douglas A., 2017. "Risk-sharing and student loan policy: Consequences for students and institutions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-9.
    20. Sarena Goodman & Alice Henriques Volz, 2020. "Attendance Spillovers between Public and For-Profit Colleges: Evidence from Statewide Variation in Appropriations for Higher Education," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(3), pages 428-456, Summer.
    21. Christopher Jepsen & Peter Mueser & Kenneth Troske & Kyung-Seong Jeon, 2021. "The Benefits of Alternatives to Conventional College: Comparing the Labor-Market Returns to For-Profit Schools and Community Colleges," CESifo Working Paper Series 9272, CESifo.
    22. Baird Matthew D. & Zaber Melanie A. & Bozick Robert, 2022. "Beyond traditional academic degrees: The labor market returns to occupational credentials in the United States," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-38, January.
    23. Jacqmin, Julien, 2014. "The Emergence of For-Profit Higher Education Institutions," MPRA Paper 59299, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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