Earnings over the Life Course: General versus Vocational Education

Bart Golsteyn (b.golsteyn@maastrichtuniversity.nl) and Anders Stenberg

No 10593, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Two common hypotheses regarding the relative benefits of vocational versus general education are (1) that vocational skills enhance relative short-term earnings and (2) that general skills enhance relative long-term earnings. Empirical evidence for these hypotheses has remained limited. Based on Swedish registry data of individuals in short (2-year) upper secondary school programs, this study provides a first exploration of individuals' earnings across nearly complete careers. The descriptive earnings patterns indicate support for both hypotheses (1) and (2). The support holds when controlling for GPA and family fixed effects and also when taking into account enrolment in further education and fertility decisions.

Keywords: human capital; vocational education; life cycle; tracking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J24 J31 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 61 pages
Date: 2017-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

Published - published in Journal of Human Capital, 2017, 11(2), 167-212

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Journal Article: Earnings over the Life Course: General versus Vocational Education (2017)
Working Paper: Earnings over the Life Course: General versus Vocational Education (2017)
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