We test for the signaling hypothesis versus the human capital theory using the Wiles test in a country which has experienced a dramatic increase in the supply of skills in a relatively short period of time. For this purpose, we construct a job match index based on the usefulness of school-provided skills and the relevance of the job performed to…

We conduct an empirical simulation exercise that gauges the plausible impact of increased rates of college attainment on a variety of measures of income inequality and economic insecurity. Using two different methodological approaches--a distributional approach and a causal parameter approach--we find that increased rates of bachelor's and…

This study analyzes the gender gap in private returns to higher education in Kazakhstan. Using the 2010 Kazakhstan Migration and Remittances Survey data I find that the gender wage gap is large, although returns to higher education for women are higher than for men. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition shows that in Kazakhstan the gender difference in…

Given the facts that women still earn significantly less than men, that most American students rely on loans to attend college, that tuition in higher education has increased, and that women have to take more students loans than men, can we still claim that we are closing the gender gap? Do females have more burdens to pay off their student loans…

Engineering programs are commonly supported by higher education policy and planning initiatives on the grounds of a supposed saturation of the labor market by other types of educational programs. However, labor market saturation is dependent on the economic characteristics and the sociocultural capital of specific locations. The aims of this study…

Senior Economist Jonathan Rothwell of Gallup, presents data on employment outcomes for college graduates from different types of colleges. He also provides findings from the Gallup-USA Funds Associate Degree Graduates Survey which shows there are a number of student experiences that are highly predictive of overall life-evaluation. He cites the…

The transition from study to work is an important one. The jobs that graduates secure after completing their studies may very well shape the trajectory of their future careers, so an understanding of how job search influences employment outcomes has significant implications for theory and higher education practice. This article specifically…

The existence of an inverse relationship between wage levels and regional unemployment rates, commonly referred to as the wage curve, is well established in the economic literature and was described by Card (1995) as being "close to an empirical law of economics". This microeconomic wage-unemployment relationship, first identified by…

The prediction that differences in incomes of high school and college graduates will not change is tested by applying standard statistical procedures to data describing actual income differences. Data from the United States Bureau of the Census describe annual incomes of men twenty-five years old and older during 1956-75. Report 1 displays results…

This paper examines the growing college premium for younger men and the earnings patterns for other groups that developed between 1973 and 1987. At first glance, the rapidly increasing college premium for young men seems to confirm several frequently cited economic trends, including a massive restructuring of the economy that displaces all less…

An analysis is made in this speech of the rates of return on investments in higher education. Results indicate that the annual rates of return are higher in every year (1961-75) than the 10 percent realized on business investments. On the basis of the evidence presented, it is concluded that Americans are not overeducated. The trends in student…

Previous research related to the economics of higher education has devoted virtually no attention to the economic return for different disciplines or fields of study. The present study examines the relationship between cost and economic return for undergraduate programs of study at one large public institution, the University of Illinois. In the…

A study was undertaken to determine the economic value of receiving a vocational certificate or associate degree from the California Community Colleges (CCCs). The study examined state Unemployment Insurance Wage Record (WR) data for a cohort of 841,952 leavers and completers from the CCCs during 1991-92, comparing educational attainment by…

A year after graduation, a survey was attempted by the Massachusetts Board of Regents of all 1981-82 career graduates of public community colleges in the state (N=5,267). Of the 1,881 responding graduates, 847 reported that they were employed full-time, and 737 of the working graduates gave the board permission to contact their employers for an…