Life-Cycle Earnings, Education Premiums, and Internal Rates of Return

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhuller, Manudeep; Mogstad, Magne; Salvanes, Kjell G.
• 署名单位: University of Chicago; Statistics Norway; Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/692509
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 993-1030
• 关键词: economic return; credit constraints; distributions; uncertainty; college; average

摘要

Using Norwegian population panel data with nearly career-long earnings histories, we provide a detailed picture of the causal relationship between schooling and earnings over the life cycle. To address selection bias, we apply three commonly used identification strategies. We find that additional schooling gives higher lifetime earnings and a steeper age-earnings profile, in line with predictions from human capital theory. Our preferred estimates imply an internal rate of return of around 11%, suggesting that it was highly profitable to acquire additional schooling. Our analysis reveals that Mincer regressions dramatically understate the returns to schooling because key assumptions are violated.