The Labor-Market Returns to Community College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates

Christopher Jepsen, Kenneth Troske and Paul Coomes

No 201223, Working Papers from School of Economics, University College Dublin

Abstract: This paper provides among the first rigorous estimates of the labor-market returns to community college certificates and diplomas, as well as estimating the returns to the more commonly-studied associate’s degrees. Using administrative data from Kentucky, we estimate panel-data models that control for differences among students in pre-college earnings and educational aspirations. Associate’s degrees and diplomas have quarterly earnings returns of nearly $2,400 for women and $1,500 for men, compared with much smaller returns for certificates. There is substantial heterogeneity in returns across fields of study. Degrees, diplomas, and – for women – certificates correspond with higher levels of employment.

Keywords: Returns to education; Community colleges; Education--Economic aspects; Wages--Effect of education on; Community college graduates--Wages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3829 First version, 2012 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The Labor-Market Returns to Community College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates (2014)
Working Paper: The labor-market returns to community college degrees, diplomas, and certificates (2014)
Working Paper: The Labor-Market Returns to Community College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates (2012)
Working Paper: The labor-market returns to community college degrees, diplomas and certificates (2012)
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