The Effects of Exposure to a Large-Scale Recession on Higher Education and Early Labor Market Outcomes

This paper uses data drawn from the European Union Labour Force Survey 2000 Ad Hoc Module on School to Work Transitions to explore the influence of gender and social background (measured in terms of parental education) on young people's educational and early labour market outcomes across 12 European countries. Our results show that social background is strongly related to the level of education achieved while gender is found to have a stronger effect on the field of study selected. Countries vary in the extent to which gender and social background affect young people's outcomes. Gender differentiation in labour market outcomes reflects the nature of the welfare regime, being more pronounced in familial and conservative systems. Social inequality in educational attainment and early labour market outcomes are less marked in Finland and Sweden, reflecting the combination of less differentiated educational systems, mass higher education and social–democratic welfare regimes. In contrast, social inequality is more marked in the Eastern European countries, due partly to their highly differentiated educational systems but more notably to rapid changes taking place in post-communist systems.

The main objective of this study is to empirically test a number of theory-based models (i.e. fixed effects (FE), random effects (RE), and aggregated residuals (AR)) to measure both, the generic knowledge as well as the degree attainment rates and early labor outcomes, gained by students in different programs and institutions in higher education. There are four main findings: First, the results of the paper confirm the need of using models that address the issue of student selection into programs and institutions in order to avoid biased estimates. Second, our findings provide suggestive evidence in favor of using FE models. Third, the results also illustrate the need to use appropriate statistical corrections (e.g., Heckman type selection models) to also address the issue related to students dropping out of college. Finally, our findings confirm our hypotheses that rankings of specific college-program combinations change depending on different educational and labor outcome measures considered. This finding emphasizes the need to use complementary indicators related to the mission of the specific post-secondary institutions that are being ranked. The results of this paper illustrate the importance of validating empirical models intended to rank college-program contributions according to a number of educational and early labor market outcomes. Finally, given the sensitivity of the models to different model specifications, it is not clear that they should be used to make any high-stakes decisions in higher education. They could, however, serve as part of a broader set of indicators to support programs and colleges as part of a formative evaluation.

ABSTRACTThe main objective of this study is to empirically test a number of theory-based models (i.e., fixed effects [FE], random effects [RE], and aggregated residuals [AR]) to measure the generic knowledge as well as the degree attainment rates and early labor outcomes gained by students in different programs and institutions in higher education. Our results show the importance of addressing the issue of student selection into programs and institutions in order to reduce selection bias, and they provide suggestive evidence in favor of using FE models. Our findings also confirm our hypotheses that rankings of specific college-program combinations change depending on the different educational and labor outcome measures considered. This finding emphasizes the need to use complementary indicators related to the mission of the specific postsecondary institutions that are being ranked. Given the sensitivity of the models to different model specifications, it is not clear whether they should be used to make any high-stakes decisions in higher education. They could, however, serve as part of a broader set of indicators to support programs and colleges as part of a formative evaluation.

Cultural capital is theorized as having a substantial influence on the educational and labour market outcomes of young people, contributing to social reproduction by mediating the effects of socioeconomic background. A number of empirical studies have found impressive effects for cultural capital on a variety of outcomes, but only a limited mediating role. Studies which show effects for cultural capital may be criticised for not incorporating a sufficient array of controls for background factors and the possibility that the observed effects for cultural capital are largely due to reading behaviour rather than participation in elite culture, since both are usually components of cultural capital measures. These issues are examined in this chapter by examining the effects of cultural capital on educational and early labour market outcomes in Australia. The data analysed are from a national longitudinal study of young Australians surveyed between 1995 and 2005. It finds that cultural capital only weakly mediates the effects of socioeconomic and social background. Its effects on educational outcomes are relatively strong, comparable or larger than the effects of parents’ education and occupation, and wealth. However, its effects can be attributed to reading in general, not to participation in elite culture. The effect of cultural capital on occupational attainment was weaker than the effects of parents’ occupation and wealth, and comparable to that of parental education and substantially is mediated through achievement in literacy and numeracy. The effects of cultural capital on earnings was negative, largely due to the limited employment experience of those with higher levels of cultural capital.

The potential benefits of increased international experience abound, ranging from enriching cultural understanding to an improvement of language skills and intercultural competence. At the same time, empirical evidence is mixed, particularly with regards to how well international experience translates into individual returns on the labour market. This article examines the association between studying abroad and early labour market outcomes in a comparative perspective aiming to shed light on why labour market returns differ across countries. We expect labour market returns to vary with specific country characteristics such as demand for international experience and competition among graduates at labour market entry. In our empirical analyses, we use data from 13 European countries that provide information on graduates’ early labour market outcomes. We find a large variation in the impact of studying abroad on both wages and attaining a higher service class position. Generally, the labour market returns to international experience are larger in countries in Eastern and Southern Europe with poorer university quality, higher graduate unemployment, and fewer students abroad.

Homeless and low-income students share multiple overlapping risk experiences; however, some studies report little to no observed differences in outcomes between these students. From the cumulative risk perspective, homelessness is perched at the extreme edge of economic insecurity, suggesting that homeless students encounter additional hardships beyond poverty experiences alone. Using a continuum of risk framework, this study leveraged statewide administrative data from a 6th grade cohort of Maryland public school students (N = 52,610) to investigate the association between homelessness and educational and early labor market outcomes, above and beyond the associations linked to poverty. Findings provide support for the continuum of risk in relation to educational outcomes; however, no significant differences were observed in early labor market outcomes, although racial differences were detected. This study underscores the importance of targeted interventions in promoting positive, long-term outcomes, particularly for students who were homeless in adolescence.

The Effects of Exposure to a Large-Scale Recession on Higher Education and Early Labor Market Outcomes

The Effects of Exposure to a Large-Scale Recession on Higher Education and Early Labor Market Outcomes

The Effects of Exposure to a Large-Scale Recession on Higher Education and Early Labor Market Outcomes

Interdisciplinary education has become increasingly prominent as a core instrument to prepare the next generation workforce. Yet, little is known about the impacts of long-term degree-oriented interdisciplinary education on post-graduation outcomes. This paper aims to investigate the influence of long-term degree-oriented interdisciplinary education on graduates’ post-graduation plan choices and labour market outcomes using unique administrative micro-data and career-tracking data from a comprehensive research university. Our results indicate that higher levels of engagement in interdisciplinary learning increase the probability of pursuing future study and employment in a field that differs from a graduate’s college degree, and are also associated with a higher probability to enter the workforce. Yet, this positive association between interdisciplinary learning and the probability of entering the workforce is specific to graduates from traditional disciplinary programmes. Additionally, our findings suggest that the impact of long-term degree-oriented interdisciplinary education on early labour market outcomes is overall beneficial but varies across degree fields. The findings of our study provided partial evidence in support of the influence of long-term degree-oriented interdisciplinary education on post-graduation plan choices and early labour market outcomes. We suggest that given resource constraints, higher education institutions could consider relaxing module choice restrictions in traditional disciplinary programmes to promote interdisciplinary education. However, it is important to note that higher education institutions should carefully consider the potential trade-off between the breadth of interdisciplinary content and the depth of specialist content, in order to strike a balance.

We investigate how early life circumstances — childhood health and socioeconomic status (SES) — are associated with labor market outcomes over an individual’s entire life cycle. A life cycle approach provides insights not only into which labor market outcomes are associated with adverse childhood events but also into whether these associations show up early or only later in working life, and whether they vanish or persist over the life cycle. The analysis is conducted using the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, which contains retrospective information on early life circumstances and full work histories for over 20,000 individuals in thirteen European countries. We find that the associations between early life circumstances and (accumulated) labor market outcomes vary over an individual’s life cycle. For men and women, the effect of childhood SES on lifetime earnings accumulates over the life cycle through the associations with both working years and annual earnings. Moreover, for men this association with lifetime earnings reverses sign from negative to positive over their working life. We also find a smaller, positive long-term association between childhood health and lifetime earnings operating mainly through annual earnings and only to a lesser extent through working years, and which is not present at the beginning of the working life for women. Most of these life cycle profiles differ between European country-groups. Finally, for women we find a so-called buffering effect, i.e. that a higher parental SES reduces the negative impact of poor health during childhood on accumulated earnings over the life cycle.

We investigate how early life circumstances—childhood health and socioeconomic status (SES)—are associated with labor market outcomes over an individual’s entire life cycle. A life cycle approach provides insights not only into which labor market outcomes are associated with adverse childhood events but also into whether these associations show up early or only later in working life, and whether they vanish or persist over the life cycle. The analysis is conducted using the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, which contains retrospective information on early life circumstances and full work histories for over 20,000 individuals in thirteen European countries. We find that the associations between early life circumstances and (accumulated) labor market outcomes vary over an individual’s life cycle. For men and women, the effect of childhood SES on lifetime earnings accumulates over the life cycle through the associations with both working years and annual earnings. Moreover, for men this association with lifetime earnings reverses sign from negative to positive over their working life. We also find a smaller, positive long-term association between childhood health and lifetime earnings operating mainly through annual earnings and only to a lesser extent through working years, and which is not present at the beginning of the working life for women. Most of these life cycle profiles differ between European country-groups. Finally, for women we find a so-called buffering effect, i.e. that a higher parental SES reduces the negative impact of poor health during childhood on accumulated earnings over the life cycle.

ObjectivesThis paper offers new insight into the link between success in high stakes exams and subsequent education and labour market outcomes. It is the first study to look holistically at the impact of crossing an important high stakes threshold on both academic and vocational education choices and ultimately labour market outcomes.
 MethodIt does so by comparing those either side of a formerly important threshold in the English education system at the end of compulsory schooling (achieving five general certificate of secondary education A* to C passes) which was commonly regarded as the minimum benchmark for continuing into post-compulsory education.
 ResultsI find that crossing this threshold led to an 6.3-6.7 percentage point increase in the proportion of men and women (respectively) going on to take academic qualifications, with little change in the proportion taking vocational qualifications, leading to a net increase in those staying on after compulsory schooling. Women's daily earnings in 2017-18 (11-13 years after leaving compulsory schooling) were 3.1 percentage points higher for those just crossing the threshold, but men's early labour market outcomes were unchanged.
 ConclusionThe results for men can be explained by low returns to academic qualifications for marginal learners. The findings for women do not disappear after accounting for subsequent education choices, suggesting that crossing the threshold may play a signalling role for employers as well as education institutions.

University peers and career prospects: The impact of university ties on early labor market outcomes

This study examines the impact of enrolling into dual apprenticeship programs in secondary education on six early employment outcomes. Our contribution to the literature is threefold. First, we estimate – within the same, Belgian secondary education framework – the effects of two distinct types of dual programs that combine part-time school- or training centre-based instruction with an apprenticeship in a firm. Second, these effects are identified by estimating a dynamic model capturing subsequent educational and labour market outcomes to control for the dynamic selection of students into dual programs. Third, this approach enables us to distinguish between the programs' direct effects (conditional on educational achievement) and indirect effects (via educational achievement). We find evidence for short-term labour market advantages but only for the program with the most days of in-field training. With these findings we contribute to the international discussion on the optimal design of vocational programs.