The Expected (Signaling) Value of Higher Education

Laura Ehrmantraut, Pia Pinger and Renske Stans
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Laura Ehrmantraut: University of Bonn

No 2020-070, Working Papers from Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group

Abstract: This paper explores students' expectations about the returns to completing higher education and provides first evidence on perceived signaling and human capital effects. We conducted a survey among a large and diverse sample of students at different stages of higher education to elicit counterfactual labor market expectations for the hypothetical scenarios of leaving university with or without a degree certificate. Our findings indicate substantial perceived returns to higher education. Moreover, using within-individual fixed effects models, we document substantial expected labor market returns from signaling, whereas perceived productivity-enhancing (human capital) returns seem to be less pronounced. Over the expected course of career, we find lasting education premia as well as evidence consistent with employer learning.

Keywords: higher education; returns to education; signaling; educational attainment; licensing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I23 I26 J24 J31 J32 J44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eur, nep-hrm and nep-lma
Note: ECI
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Ehrman ... -value-education.pdf First version, September 2020 (application/pdf)
http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Ehrman ... e-education_rev1.pdf Second version, September 23, 2020 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: The Expected (Signaling) Value of Higher Education (2020)
Working Paper: The Expected (Signaling) Value of Higher Education (2020)
Working Paper: The Expected (Signaling) Value of Higher Education (2020)
Working Paper: The Expected (Signaling) Value of Higher Education (2020)
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