Administrative earnings data spanning 1983 through 2007 used to estimate career-long returns to college selectivity¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article's evidence base is administrative earnings data used to estimate the effect of attending a highly selective college on future earnings. The page states the paper "uses administrative earnings data" and draws on "earnings data from a longer time horizon (from 1983 through 2007)" plus a 1989 entering cohort, allowing returns to be estimated over a longer career span than the prior study.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires administrative earnings records linked to college attendance for the studied cohorts

Constraints¶

• Evidence described on the page covers earnings data from 1983 through 2007 and cohorts entering college in 1976 and 1989

Target Learners¶

• College-bound students and college entrants

Target Learning Goals¶

• Understanding the career earnings payoff of attending a more selective college

Claims¶

• Estimates of the return to college selectivity fall substantially, often to near zero, when earnings are tracked from 1983 through 2007 and for a 1989 entering cohort [+W]
• The return to college selectivity remains large for black, Hispanic, and students from less-educated families [+W]
• The study extends a previous paper that examined the 1995 earnings of a cohort of students who entered college in 1976 [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Stacy Dale, Alan B. Krueger. (2011). Estimating the Return to College Selectivity Over the Career Using Administrative Earning Data. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research and Princeton University. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/estimating-the-return-to-college-selectivity-over-the-career-using-administrative-earning-data