This paper relaxes the assumption of homogeneous rates of return to schooling by employing nonparametric kernel regression. This approach allows us to examine the differences in rates of return to education both across and within groups. Similar to previous studies we find that on average blacks have higher returns to education than whites,…

We use data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel (TSMP) to examine the extent to which dropouts use the GED as a route to postsecondary education. Lacking suitable instruments that would allow us to directly address potential biases in estimating the "GED path" to postsecondary education, our approach is to base estimates on a set of…

We study the effects of the large expansion in British educational attainment that took place for cohorts born between 1970 and 1975. Using the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, we find that the expansion caused men to increase education by about a year on average and gain about 8% higher wages; women obtained a slightly greater increase in education…

This paper adds to the sparse literature on the consequences of education-occupation mismatches. It examines the income penalty for field of education-occupation mismatches for men and women with higher education degrees in Sweden and reveals that the penalty for such mismatches is large for both men and women. For mismatched men the income…

Using one cohort of 7235 middle school students in Beijing, China, we examined the evolution of the gender achievement gap in middle school. Our study found a more significant female dominance than in U.S. studies: even though boys gradually caught up during middle school, especially in Math and Science, and the gender achievement gap decreased…

This study examines the role of sheepskin effects in explaining white-black earnings differences. The study finds significant differences in sheepskin effects between white men and black men, with white men receiving higher rewards for lower level signals (degrees of a college education or less) and black men receiving higher rewards for higher…

In this paper we investigate the validity of two education requirement measures. This is important because a key part of the ongoing discussion concerning overeducation is about measurement. Thanks to the Dutch Institute for Labour Studies, we have been given a unique opportunity to compare two education requirement measures: first, Huijgen's…

A regression analysis of 1966 National Longitudinal Survey data compared the human capital returns of employees with those of self-employed owners of nonfarm businesses, using information on income, grade completed, race, vocational training, and other variables. Results indicate the human capital returns were basically similar for both groups.…

The education literature provides numerous estimates of community college diversion and democratization effects measured in terms of educational attainment. Kane and Rouse [J Econ Pers 13 (1999) 64] suggest testing for diversion by comparing the impacts of two-year and four-year colleges on the changes in educational aspirations that underlie…