The Effects of Advanced Degrees on the Wage Rates, Hours, Earnings and Job Satisfaction of Women and Men

Joseph G. Altonji (), John Humphries and Ling Zhong ()
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Joseph G. Altonji: Yale University
Ling Zhong: Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

No 15010, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper uses a college-by-graduate degree fixed effects estimator to evaluate the returns to 19 different graduate degrees for men and women. We find substantial variation across degrees, and evidence that OLS over-estimates the returns to degrees with the highest average earnings and underestimates the returns to degrees with the lowest average earnings. Second, we decompose the impacts on earnings into effects on wage rates and effects on hours. For most degrees, the earnings gains come from increased wage rates, though hours play an important role in some degrees, such as medicine, especially for women. Third, we estimate the net present value and internal rate of return for each degree, which account for the time and monetary costs of degrees. Finally, we provide descriptive evidence that satisfaction gains are large for some degrees with smaller economic returns, such as education and humanities degrees, especially for men.

Keywords: job satisfaction; earnings; returns to graduate education; gender differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 97 pages
Date: 2022-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ltv
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Published - published in: Polachek, S.W. and Tatsiramos, K. (ed.) 50th Celebratory Volume (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 50), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, 2023, 25-81

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Related works:
Chapter: The Effects of Advanced Degrees on the Wage Rates, Hours, Earnings, and Job Satisfaction of Women and Men* (2023)
Working Paper: The Effects of Advanced Degrees on the Wage Rates, Hours, Earnings and Job Satisfaction of Women and Men (2022)
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