Post-baccalaureate wage growth within four years of graduation: The effects of college quality and college major

Scott L. Thomas; Liang Zhang

doi:10.1007/s11162-005-2969-y

Post-baccalaureate wage growth within four years of graduation: The effects of college quality and college major

Scott L. Thomas, Liang Zhang

Administration, Leadership & Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of college quality and academic major on the earnings of a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate recipients. We extend previous work in this area by analyzing the magnitude of change in the influence of these factors at two points in the early career of these graduates. Our results demonstrate that, despite significant variation, graduates from higher quality colleges enjoy a greater rate of growth in earnings during their early career. We also show that growth in earnings varies significantly by the graduates' major field of study. Wage growth for women and racial minorities is also examined.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	437-459
Number of pages	23
Journal	Research in Higher Education
Volume	46
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-2969-y
State	Published - Jun 2005

Keywords

Academic major
College quality
Human capital
Labor market outcomes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education

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10.1007/s11162-005-2969-y

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title = "Post-baccalaureate wage growth within four years of graduation: The effects of college quality and college major",

abstract = "This paper examines the impact of college quality and academic major on the earnings of a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate recipients. We extend previous work in this area by analyzing the magnitude of change in the influence of these factors at two points in the early career of these graduates. Our results demonstrate that, despite significant variation, graduates from higher quality colleges enjoy a greater rate of growth in earnings during their early career. We also show that growth in earnings varies significantly by the graduates' major field of study. Wage growth for women and racial minorities is also examined.",

keywords = "Academic major, College quality, Human capital, Labor market outcomes",

author = "Thomas, {Scott L.} and Liang Zhang",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by a grant from the American Educational Research Association which receives funds for its AERA Grants Program from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education{\textquoteright}s National Center for Education Statistics of the Institute of Education Sciences under NSF Grant #REC-9980573. Opinions reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agencies. We are indebted to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and criticism of an earlier draft of this paper.",

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N2 - This paper examines the impact of college quality and academic major on the earnings of a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate recipients. We extend previous work in this area by analyzing the magnitude of change in the influence of these factors at two points in the early career of these graduates. Our results demonstrate that, despite significant variation, graduates from higher quality colleges enjoy a greater rate of growth in earnings during their early career. We also show that growth in earnings varies significantly by the graduates' major field of study. Wage growth for women and racial minorities is also examined.

AB - This paper examines the impact of college quality and academic major on the earnings of a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate recipients. We extend previous work in this area by analyzing the magnitude of change in the influence of these factors at two points in the early career of these graduates. Our results demonstrate that, despite significant variation, graduates from higher quality colleges enjoy a greater rate of growth in earnings during their early career. We also show that growth in earnings varies significantly by the graduates' major field of study. Wage growth for women and racial minorities is also examined.

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Post-baccalaureate wage growth within four years of graduation: The effects of college quality and college major

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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