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Title: What Flattened the Earnings Profile of Recent College Graduates?

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2013

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Abstract: The U.S. labor market has changed dramatically over the past 100 years. Consider, for example, the effects of increased female labor force participation, the college premium, unionization, and immigration. In this essay, we explore the counterintuitive fact that the average life cycle earnings profile for college graduates of morerecent birth cohorts is flatter than that for older birth cohorts. That is, over their working lifetimes, college graduates who entered the workforce many decades ago experienced a much greater increase in wages than college graduates who entered the workforce in recent decades. We also explore a theoretical link between a measure of ability and the life cycle earnings profile and suggest an explanation for the flatter life cycle earnings profile for recent birth cohorts.

Url: https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/es/13/ES_14_2013-05-30.pdf

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Authors: Kong, Yu-Chien; Ravikumar, B.

Publisher: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education

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