Human Capital Investments and Expectations about Career and Family

Abstract

We conducted a survey of high-ability college students and elicited beliefs about how their choice of major, and of whether to complete their degree, would affect an array of future events: earnings, employment, marriage prospects, potential spousal characteristics, and fertility. We find that students perceive large “returns” to human capital not only in their own future earnings but also in other dimensions (e.g., potential spouse’s earnings and fertility). We find evidence of students sorting into majors on the basis of these perceived returns. Family expectations are particularly important for female students’ major choices. In a follow-up survey conducted 6 years after the initial data collection, we find a close connection between expectations and current realizations.