TY - JOUR T1 - Is It Worth It? Postsecondary Education And Labor Market Outcomes For The Disadvantaged JF - IZA Journal of Labor Policy Y1 - 2015 A1 - Ben Backes A1 - Harry J Holzer A1 - Erin Dunlop Velez KW - achievement KW - associate degree KW - bachelor’s degree KW - completion KW - disadvantaged KW - earnings KW - postsecondary AB -

In this paper we examine a range of postsecondary education and labor market outcomes, with a particular focus on minorities and/or disadvantaged workers. We use administrative data from the state of Florida, where postsecondary student records have been linked to UI earnings data and also to secondary education records. Our main findings can be summarized as follows: 1) Gaps in secondary school achievement can account for a large portion of the variation in postsecondary attainment and labor market outcomes between the disadvantaged and other students, but meaningful gaps also exist within achievement groups, and 2) Earnings of the disadvantaged are hurt by low completion rates in postsecondary programs, poor performance during college, and not choosing high-earning fields. In particular, significant labor market premia can be earned in a variety of more technical certificate and Associate (AA) programs, even for those with weak earlier academic performance, but instead many disadvantaged (and other) students choose general humanities programs at the AA (and even the BA level) with low completion rates and low compensation afterwards. A range of policies and practices might be used to improve student choices as well as their completion rates and earnings.

VL - 4 L2 - eng UR - http://www.izajolp.com/content/4/1/1 CP - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Role of Gender in Promotion and Pay over a Career JF - Journal of Human Capital Y1 - 2014 A1 - John T. Addison A1 - Orgul Demet Ozturk A1 - Si Wang KW - earnings KW - private sector KW - promotion KW - public sector AB -

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), this paper considers the role of gender in promotion and subsequent earnings development and how this evolves over a career. In its use of three career stages, the study builds on earlier work using the NLSY79 that considers gender differences in the early career years alone. The raw data suggest reasonably favorable promotion outcomes for females over a career. But the advantages seem to be confined to less-educated females. And while there are strong returns to education for males through enhanced promotion probability and attendant wage growth in later career this is not the case for females. Although this latter finding is not inconsistent with fertility choices on the part of educated females, choice is seemingly only part of the explanation.

VL - 8 L2 - eng UR - http://www.uc.pt/feuc/gemf/working_papers/pdf/2014/gemf_2014-07 CP - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - What Has 20 Years Of Public–Private Pay Gap Literature Told Us? Eastern European Transitioning Vs. Developed Economies JF - Journal of Economic Surveys Y1 - 2014 A1 - Jelena Lausev KW - developed economies KW - earnings KW - Eastern Europe KW - intercountry comparisons KW - pay KW - public and private sectors KW - public–private pay gap KW - salaries KW - transitioning economies in Eastern Europe AB -

This paper surveys the literature on public–private sector pay differentials based on 20 years of research in transitioning countries of Eastern Europe (EE) and compares the results with estimates obtained from developed market economies. The majority of empirical studies from EE economies found evidence of public sector pay penalties during the period of economic transition from a communist to market-based economy. In developed economies, however, the average differential is usually around zero or positive. The public sector pay inequality reducing effect relative to the private sector is greater in transitioning economies than in developed economies. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the sign of the public sector pay gap as well as the relative public sector pay distribution change with the progress of economic transition towards those usually observed in developed economies. Different pay-setting arrangements between private and public sectors and competition for workers seem to be major arguments for the existence of systematic pay differences between the two sectors.

VL - 28 L2 - eng CP - 3 ER -