Estimates of the Return to Schooling and Variations Between Countries and Ability Groups
(2021) NEKP01 20211Department of Economics
- Abstract
- This study analyzes the return to schooling in 22 countries. More specifically, the effect on earnings of receiving a bachelor’s and a master’s degree is estimated by applying a propensity score matching approach on microdata. Unlike many other techniques, propensity score matching addresses selection bias to a higher extent making the estimates of the treatment effect on the treated more reliable. The findings suggest that receiving a degree results in around 15 percent higher earnings. To disentangle these estimates, each countries’ return to schooling is estimated separately to examine the relation between the return and country-level variables where social expenditure and income equality are negatively related to the return.... (More)
- This study analyzes the return to schooling in 22 countries. More specifically, the effect on earnings of receiving a bachelor’s and a master’s degree is estimated by applying a propensity score matching approach on microdata. Unlike many other techniques, propensity score matching addresses selection bias to a higher extent making the estimates of the treatment effect on the treated more reliable. The findings suggest that receiving a degree results in around 15 percent higher earnings. To disentangle these estimates, each countries’ return to schooling is estimated separately to examine the relation between the return and country-level variables where social expenditure and income equality are negatively related to the return. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that the return to schooling varies between individuals belonging to different parts of the ability distribution as low-ability individuals even have a negative return to a master’s degree. The differences in returns across the ability distribution are even more evident when isolating countries with low social expenditure. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9061203
- author
- Sandberg, David LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- NEKP01 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- return to schooling, selection bias, propensity score matching, cross-country analysis, ability
- language
- English
- id
- 9061203
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-17 14:47:30
- date last changed
- 2021-08-17 14:47:30
@misc{9061203, abstract = {{This study analyzes the return to schooling in 22 countries. More specifically, the effect on earnings of receiving a bachelor’s and a master’s degree is estimated by applying a propensity score matching approach on microdata. Unlike many other techniques, propensity score matching addresses selection bias to a higher extent making the estimates of the treatment effect on the treated more reliable. The findings suggest that receiving a degree results in around 15 percent higher earnings. To disentangle these estimates, each countries’ return to schooling is estimated separately to examine the relation between the return and country-level variables where social expenditure and income equality are negatively related to the return. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that the return to schooling varies between individuals belonging to different parts of the ability distribution as low-ability individuals even have a negative return to a master’s degree. The differences in returns across the ability distribution are even more evident when isolating countries with low social expenditure.}}, author = {{Sandberg, David}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Estimates of the Return to Schooling and Variations Between Countries and Ability Groups}}, year = {{2021}}, }