The Impact of Higher Education on Employer Perceptions

Renske Stans, Laura Ehrmantraut, Malin Siemers and Pia Pinger

No 11714, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Do employers seek to attract individuals with more education because it enhances human capital or because it signals higher levels of pre-existing traits? We experimentally vary master’s degree completion rates on applicant résumés and examine how this influences candidates’ desirability and employer perceptions of their productive characteristics. Our findings show that while a completed master’s degree increases desirability, an incomplete master’s degree is perceived by human resource managers as less favorable than a bachelor’s degree. This suggests that employers prefer candidates with higher education mainly because they view the degree as a signal of pre-existing productive traits. Consistent with this, employers perceive both cognitive and non-cognitive traits as stronger in master graduates but non-cognitive traits as weaker in master dropouts compared to bachelor’s degree holders. Overall, perceived cognitive and non-cognitive traits play a larger role in determining a candidate’s attractiveness than expertise. This paper thus provides causal evidence on the origins of the education premium.

Keywords: returns to education; beliefs; labor demand; labor productivity; signaling; wages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 I26 J23 J24 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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