Wage rates and earnings can mislead public and private decisionmakers about the social benefits of certain kinds of education and training investments. This confusion arises because (1) workers and employers prefer employment contracts that downplay productivity differences among workers doing the same job; and (2) important dimensions of…

A study was conducted to determine the effect of participation in vocational education on labor market experience immediately after high school. Data were gathered in March and April of 1980 while the young people were seniors in high school, and again two years later. The first wave of data contained various measures of education and grades in…

Wage rates and earnings give misleading signals to public and private policymakers as to the benefits of certain kinds of education and training investments. These misleading signals result from the fact that (1) workers and employers prefer employment contracts that either do not recognize or only partially recognize differences in productivity…