Returns to Education Through Access to Higher-Paying Firms: Evidence from US Matched Employer-Employee Data

Engbom, Niklas and Moser, Christian (2017): Returns to Education Through Access to Higher-Paying Firms: Evidence from US Matched Employer-Employee Data. Published in: American Economic Review , Vol. 107, No. 5 (May 2017): pp. 374-378.

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the microfoundations of reduced-form returns to education. Specifically, we ask: are more advanced higher education degrees associated with increased earnings within employers or higher average pay across employers? And to the extent that sorting across firms matters, what parts of the employer pay distribution are higher degrees differentially represented in?

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Returns to education; wage inequality; firm heterogeneity; worker heterogeneity; schooling; college; human capital; signaling
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I20 - General; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I23 - Higher Education ; Research Institutions; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I24 - Education and Inequality; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I26 - Returns to Education; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I29 - Other; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General > J00 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General > J01 - Labor Economics: General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J30 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure ; Wage Differentials

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