Workers with a tertiary education: field of study, occupation, and income gap relative to workers with a secondary education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/1980-5330/ea202621Keywords:
tertiary education, fields of study, occupation, labor earningsAbstract
This paper seeks to analyze labor earnings differences between workers with bachelor’s degree and those with secondary education taking into account the heterogeneity across fields of study in the former group. Labor earnings differentials are decomposed to quantify the contribution of general skill acquired in the program, access to higher-paying occupations, and the match between skills acquired and occupation requirements. According to the results, those three elements play important roles. Evidence also indicates that individuals with a bachelor’s degree, whatever their fields of study, have larger labor earnings than lower educated ones, on average.
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