Monetizing college reputation: The case of Taiwan's engineering and medical schools

Abstract

This study uses the admission scores of Taiwan's Joint College Entrance Examination (JCEE) and occupational wage data to estimate the reputation values of engineering and medical schools in Taiwan. It is found that the reputation values of medical schools are more than twice those of engineering schools. It takes about 7 and 19 years of work for an average person to earn the equivalent reputation value of the best engineering school and of the best medical school, respectively. The reputation values in a sense contain a significant quantity of intangible returns from holding a degree from a certain college. This implies that the signaling effect is important if intangible returns in relation to a college education are considered.