Ex Ante Returns and Occupational Choice

Peter Arcidiacono, V. Joseph Hotz, Arnaud Maurel and Teresa Romano

Journal of Political Economy, 2020, vol. 128, issue 12, 4475 - 4522

Abstract: Using data from Duke University undergraduates, we make three main contributions to the literature. First, we show that data on earnings beliefs and probabilities of choosing particular occupations are highly informative of future earnings and occupations. Second, we show how beliefs data can be used to recover ex ante treatment effects and their relationship with individual choices. We find large differences in expected earnings across occupations and provide evidence of sorting on expected gains. Finally, nonpecuniary factors play an important role, with a sizable share of individuals willing to give up substantial amounts of earnings by not choosing their highest-paying occupation.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (53)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/710559 (application/pdf)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/710559 (text/html)
Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/710559

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Political Economy from University of Chicago Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Journals Division ().