Income, Schooling, and Ability: Evidence from a New Sample of Identical Twins

Orley Ashenfelter and Cecilia Rouse

No 6106, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We develop a model of optimal schooling investments and estimate it using new data on approximately 700 identical twins. We estimate an average return to schooling of 9 percent for identical twins, but estimated returns appear to be slightly higher for less able individuals. Simple cross-section estimates are marginally upward biased. These empirical results imply that more able individuals attain more schooling because they face lower marginal costs of schooling, not because of higher marginal benefits.

JEL-codes: I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997-07
Note: CH LS
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

Published as Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 113, no. 1 (February 1998): 253-284.
Published as Addison, John T. (ed.) "Recent Developments in Labor Economics," Volume 1. Elgar Reference Collection. International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, vol. 207. Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, MA: Elgar, 2007

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Journal Article: Income, Schooling, and Ability: Evidence from a New Sample of Identical Twins (1998)
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