Motivated by the large differences in labor market outcomes across college majors, we survey the literature on the demand for and return to high school and post-secondary education by field of study. We combine elements from several papers to provide a dynamic model of education and occupation choice that stresses the roles of specificity of human…

National Longitudinal Survey data were used to estimate the effects of specific high school curricula on wages and educational attainment. Return to additional academic courses was small, suggesting that the value of a year of high school cannot be accounted for by estimates of the value of courses taken. (SK)

Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study, High School Class of 1972 found that (1) men and Blacks received more on-the-job training than women and Whites; (2) postsecondary education and aptitude had a positive effect; (3) high school curriculum did not affect training; and (4) training was affected by verbal, math, and clerical job…

This paper examines whether failure to control for family background, aptitude, high school quality, high school curriculum, and community characteristics leads to bias in estimates of the economic return resulting from postsecondary education. High school specific fixed effects were used to control for all observed and unobserved characteristics…