Alternative Estimates of Field of Study on Earnings: Do Majors Matter?

最近的研究表明，大学工资溢价（大学毕业生的平均工资与高中毕业生的平均工资之比）急剧上升，同时受过大学教育的工人之间的不平等也在加剧。大学毕业生工资的显著差异仍然无法解释。这项研究计划拨款是为了支持一个项目，该项目使用1993年全国大学毕业生调查来研究研究领域对收入和工资结构的影响。这个异常丰富的数据集包含了对大学专业、职业、实际工作经验和工资的观察，可以用来增强我们对高等教育对收入影响的理解。这项研究首先考察了学习领域是否导致了大学毕业生收入不平等的加剧。如果是这样的话，控制学习领域的不平等指标应该比所有大学毕业生观察到的不平等指标要小。然后，研究考虑了学习领域和主要工作活动是否缩小了无法解释的性别工资差距。最后，研究讨论了自我选择对大学专业收益估计的影响。

Project Abstract Recent research has documented a dramatic increase in the college wage premium -- the ratio of the average wage of college graduates to that of high school graduates -- as well as increasing inequality among college educated workers. Significant variation in the wages of college graduates remains unexplained. This Research Planning Grant is made in support of a project that uses the 1993 National Survey of College Graduates to examine the effect of field of study on earnings and the wage structure. This unusually rich data set contains observations on college major, occupation, actual work experience, and salary and can be used to augment our understanding of the effect of higher education on earnings. The research begins by examining whether field of study accounts for the increase in earnings inequality among college graduates. If so, inequality measures that control for field of study should be smaller than those observed for all college graduates. The research then considers whether of field of study and primary work activity narrow the unexplained gender wage gap. Finally, the study addresses the effect of self-selection on estimates of the returns to college major.