This study examines the availability of career and technical education program areas in Tennessee high schools, concentrations (a three-or-more credit sequence in a program area) completed by 2007/08 high school graduates, and how these concentrations align with jobs in the labor market. It looks at how these outcomes differ, statewide and by…

This study examines the availability of career and technical education program areas in Tennessee high schools, concentrations (a three-or-more credit sequence in a program area) completed by 2007/08 high school graduates, and how these concentrations align with jobs in the labor market. It looks at how these outcomes differ, statewide and by…

The authors use administrative data from Florida to determine the extent to which prison-based adult basic education (ABE) improves inmate's postrelease labor market outcomes, such as earnings and employment. Using two nonexperimental comparison groups, the authors find evidence that ABE participation is associated with higher postrelease earnings…

This dissertation contains three chapters that explore various aspects of the economics of education, with a focus on higher education. In particular, the first two chapters deal with college major as it relates to earnings, occupational choice, and high school curriculum, while the third discusses the relationship between college-student match…

Postsecondary education yields myriad benefits, including increased earnings potential, higher lifetime wages, and access to quality jobs. But postsecondary degrees are not all equal in the benefits they bring to students, and women tend to obtain degrees in fields with lower earnings. Women with associate degrees earn approximately 75 percent of…

The authors use data from the Health and Retirement Study's Earnings Benefit File, which links Health and Retirement Study to Social Security Administration records, to estimate the impact of childhood health on earnings curves between the ages of 25 and 50 years. They also investigate the extent to which diminished educational attainment, earlier…

I review theories and evidence on wage-setting institutions and labor market policies in an international comparative context. These include collective bargaining, minimum wages, employment protection laws, unemployment insurance (UI), mandated parental leave, and active labor market policies (ALMPs). Since it is unlikely that an unregulated…

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project evaluated strategies to promote employment stability among low-income workers. This practitioner brief examines the work, education, and training patterns of single parents in the ERA project. Three years after entering the study, only one in four single parents had advanced. Most of the…

Kentucky is a poor, relatively rural state that contrasts greatly with the relatively urban and wealthy states typically the subject of education studies employing large-scale administrative data. For this reason, Kentucky's experience of major school finance and curricular reform is highly salient for understanding teacher labor market dynamics.…

At a time of sustained unemployment and sluggish job growth, students and policymakers are increasingly asking tough questions about postsecondary education and training outcomes. Do graduates find jobs? What are they paid? What will they earn in the future? Despite growing national interest in this information, good answers are not widely…

The engineering profession is very sensitive to the new changes in the engineering job market demand. The engineering job market is changing in a much faster rate than the engineering/engineering technology education. A 13-year study will be presented. The study focuses on the factors affecting the survival rate, student academic performance,…

This first of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing--related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region. Together, these reports will capture trends over the next four years to (1) inform the…

When people think of New York, Wall Street and Broadway theaters come to mind most often but in fact the New York area is also a major center for higher education. Indeed, the New York metropolitan area is home to more than 240 private colleges and universities employing about 97,000 workers and attracting students and faculty from around the…

A commonly held belief is that formal education has a strong positive association with earnings (Sanchez, 1998). The motivation for individuals to pursue and complete an education beyond high school is likely founded in the hopes of higher paying jobs or a higher position. The "economic benefits" of a community college education can be…

Focused on human capital, economists typically explain about half of the gender earnings gap. For a national sample of MBAs, we account for 82 percent of the gap by incorporating noncognitive skills (for example, confidence and assertiveness) and preferences regarding family, career, and jobs. Those two sources of gender heterogeneity account for…