Human-capital sorting account in which measured selectivity returns reflect student characteristics rather than college effects¶

Theory · All theories
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 publication page frames college selectivity returns as an empirical quantity whose estimate changes with identification and data scope: the paper "uses administrative earnings data to the effect of attending a highly selective college on future earnings," and returns "fell substantially, often to near zero" with longer horizons and a newer cohort, while remaining large for disadvantaged subgroups. This pattern is consistent with the authors' framing that naive selectivity estimates partly reflect student characteristics, though the page itself prints no mechanism discussion.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires administrative earnings data linked to college selectivity measures across cohorts

Constraints¶

• Estimates are specific to the 1983–2007 earnings window and the 1976 and 1989 entering cohorts described on the page

Target Learners¶

• College-bound students and college entrants

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Understanding how college selectivity relates to later earnings

Claims¶

• College Selectivity Earnings Return Near Zero Long Horizon [+M]
• College Selectivity Return Large Disadvantaged Groups [+M]
• The study extends a previous paper that examined the 1995 earnings of a cohort of students who entered college in 1976 [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

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

Key Sources¶

• Lb0