How do college students and postsecondary institutions react to changes in skill demand in the U.S. labor market? We quantify the magnitude and nature of response in the 4-year sector using a new measure of labor demand at the institution-major level that combines online job ads with geographic locations of alumni from a professional networking…

Over the past four decades, income inequality grew significantly between workers with bachelor's degrees and those with high school diplomas (often called "unskilled"). Rather than being unskilled, we argue that these workers are STARs because they are skilled through alternative routes--namely their work experience. Using the skill…

This article highlights research in "The STEM Dilemma: Skills That Matter to Regions", which was recently published by the Upjohn Institute. The book looks at the regional workforce through the lens of the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with regional occupations. This fine-grained approach uses data in the…

Uses Canadian class structure and labor data to estimate the returns to over- and under-education. Returns are positive for males in jobs requiring a bachelor's degree, but insignificant for other required education levels. Undereducated males receive lower pay. For females, returns to over-/under-education are insignificant. (Contains 27…

There is a strong and growing argument for higher educational attainment in the United States. The jobs that are expected to support the economy in the coming years will depend on a skilled workforce that is able to learn and adapt quickly to new challenges. However, demographic patterns demonstrate that relying on the traditional K-16 pipeline to…