Educational Attainment and the Evolution of Cumulative Earnings across 45 US Birth Cohorts

Annie Liu and Pinghui Wu

No 26-5, Working Papers from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Abstract: Educational attainment profoundly shapes cumulative earnings trends across US birth cohorts. Between the 1933 and 1977 cohorts, men with an advanced degree experienced rising earnings in both the early-career (ages 25 to 44) and late-career (ages 45 to 64) stages, while those with a sub-baccalaureate education―and college graduates outside the 1951–1965 cohorts―saw minimal earnings growth. Women experienced broad-based gains, with larger increases among those with a bachelor’s or advanced degree. For less educated men, extended work life represented the primary growth margin in the late-career stage. While gaps between education groups widened, within-group dispersion rose across cohorts, particularly among men born between 1933 and 1957. These cohort-to-cohort changes emerged at labor market entry and persisted throughout the career cycle, indicating that the conditions in which careers begin critically shape long-run inequality dynamics.

Keywords: educational attainment; long-term cumulative earnings; earnings disparities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 I26 J24 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36
Date: 2026-03-01
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DOI: 10.29412/res.wp.2026.05

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