Education and Earnings Growth: Evidence from 11 European Countries

Giorgio Brunello and Simona Comi

No 140, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We use cohort data from 11 European countries to study whether experience profiles differ by educational attainment. Previous literature does not provide a clear answer to this question, that is important to evaluate private returns to education over the working life of individuals. We find evidence that employees with tertiary education have steeper experience profiles than employees with upper secondary or compulsory education. Hence, education provides not only an initial labor market advantage but also a permanent advantage that increases with time in the labor market. We also find that differences in earnings growth by education are lower in countries with a higher level of corporatism and higher in countries which have experienced both relatively fast labor productivity growth and a relatively low educational attainment. The educational system also seems to matter, because countries with a more stratified system of secondary education have smaller differences in earnings growth by education.

Keywords: Education; earnings growth; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2000-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-lab and nep-tid
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published - published in: Economics of Education Review, 2004, 23 (1), 75-83

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