ERIC Number: ED558089
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 38
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Do Students' College Major Choices Respond to Changes in Wages? CEDR Working Paper. WP #2014-6
Long, Mark C.; Goldhaber, Dan; Huntington-Klein, Nick
Center for Education Data & Research
We find statistically significant relationships between changes in wages by occupation and subsequent changes in college majors completed in associated fields. College majors (defined at a detailed level) are most strongly related to wages observed three years earlier, when students were college freshmen. The responses to wages vary depending on the extent to which there is a strong mapping of majors into particular occupations. We also find that women and black students are less likely to respond to wage changes. These findings have implications for policy interventions designed to align students' major choices with labor market demand.
Descriptors: College Students, Majors (Students), Statistical Significance, Comparative Analysis, Wages, Labor Market, Supply and Demand, Hypothesis Testing, Equations (Mathematics), National Surveys, Correlation, Statistical Analysis, Decision Making
Center for Education Data & Research. 3876 Bridge Way North Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98103. Tel: 206-547-5585; Fax: 206-547-1641; e-mail: cedr@uw.edu; Web site: http://www.cedr.us
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research; Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: Center for Education Data & Research (CEDR)
Identifiers - Location: Washington
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A