As an employer, the public sector might be expected to be more meritocratic than the private sector, because of its democratic values and more transparent appointments procedures. In this context meritocratic means that the employer only considers characteristics such as degree and grades, relevant for the position in question. The individuals in…

We report evidence that university reputation affects wages of bachelors in China. An unconditional difference between a top-100 university and a top 400-500 university of 23% is increased to some 28% by adding controls. Within the top-100 there is no differentiation in pay-off. Self-rated quality of high school, while affecting quality of…

We show that the narrowing gender gap and the growth in earnings inequality are consistent with a simple model in which skills are heterogeneous, and the growth in skill prices has been particularly strong for skills with which women are well endowed. Empirical analysis of DOT, CPS, and NLSY79 data finds evidence to support this model. A large…

Gender equality is not just about economic empowerment. It is a moral imperative, it is about fairness and equity, and includes many political, social and cultural dimensions. Gender equality, however, is also a key factor in self-reported well-being and happiness across the world. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, there is now an urgent…

Charter schools have been the subject of much education policy research, particularly related to student achievement, governance, funding, and student composition. Although high-quality teachers are essential for the educational success of any school, much less research exists on charter schools' ability to recruit talented teachers. This study…

In the university setting, the issue of faculty morale typically has been linked to a variety of perceived inequities, including inequities in faculty salary. New approaches for analyzing two different, but related, types of inequity are proposed. One approach addresses whether salary compression, often perceived by faculty to exist, actually does…

One of the most important aspects of growing and improving business education is replacing departed faculty members. As the baby-boom generation approaches retirement, the supply of available replacement faculty members is diminishing. The result is a competitive market for replacement faculty that features increasing starting salary levels. In…

In this paper, a comparison is made of the background and the early career of graduates with higher education from abroad to graduates with all domestic degrees, based on a survey among Norwegian graduates. Results show that those who have studied abroad constitute a selected group regarding social origin and mobility capital (exposure to…

In this paper we will briefly review recent trends in employment outcomes for disadvantaged youth, focusing specifically on those who have become "disconnected" from school and the labor market, and why these trends have occurred. We then review a range of policy prescriptions that might improve those outcomes. These policies include: 1)…

In this essay, the author provides a critique of sources relevant to the feminization of teaching in the United States from the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Sources covering topics such as the American Civil War, labor market forces, increasing urbanization, educational reform, and regional differences, and how they affected the feminization…

There has been a long-standing concern amongst policymakers, economists, and trade unions over the persistent earnings gap between men and women in the Canadian labour market. Although this gap has narrowed over time, women's average hourly wages still remain about 16% lower than that earned by men. The reasons for this inequality in male and…

The recent response by Anthony Carnevale et al. to the authors' analysis of the fundamental shortcomings associated with their predictions of widespread college labor shortages focuses on three areas. First, Anthony Carnevale et al. suggest that the authors are educational Luddites by noting in the title of their response that the authors believe…

This dissertation consists of three essays on adolescents' post secondary education choices and labor market returns. The first chapter analyzes returns to selectivity of four-year colleges by different post-bachelor's degree schooling paths. The second chapter documents the role of family income in college application and enrollment…

This paper provides an overview of vocational education and training (VET) system in India, and discusses various challenges and difficulties in the Indian VET system. The paper also examines labour market outcomes of vocational graduates and compares these with those of general secondary graduates using a large-scale nationally representative…

This dissertation examines two related questions. First, it estimates the effect of growth in the demand for skilled and unskilled labor on rural household incomes and the rural wage structure. Second, it examines the effect of growth in household incomes and in labor market returns to education on household educational investment. The…