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Title: High School Inputs and Labor Market Outcomes over an Entire Career: New Data and Estimates from Wisconsin
Citation Type: Conference Paper
Publication Year: 2016
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Abstract: This study presents new evidence on the relationship between high school inputs measured at the time male respondents attended high school and the earnings of these same individuals throughout their careers, when they were about 35, 52 and 64 years of age. To accomplish this task, we matched newly coded data on the characteristics of Wisconsin high schools in the 1950s to the 1/3 random sample of 1957 Wisconsin high school graduates that are included in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey. Our estimates show a significant positive relationship of proxies for teacher human capital (education and experience) on student earnings that remain unchanged at all three career points. Our preferred estimates imply a $1000 difference ($2010) in teacher human capital raises earnings each year by 1.89-2.20 percent. We use our point estimates and a baseline career earnings model for male Wisconsin high school graduates constructed from the 1960-2000 Censuses to estimate the returns to communities from their investments in students. Our preferred estimates show the present value of the benefits to students from investing a $1/student over 12 years falls between $16 and $19 (all 2010 dollars, 5 percent discount rate) with an internal rate of return between 18 and 19 percent. We also find high school inputs have a strong effect on the assets of these students in 2004 when they are about 64 years old. We believe these results are the first estimates of the lifetime returns to school quality using individual panel data. Our estimates remain virtually unchanged using a variety of alternative specifications and samples.
Url: http://www.sole-jole.org/16423.pdf
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Authors: Ollson, Craig A; Ackerman, Deena
Conference Name: 21st Annual Meeting of the Society of Labor Economists
Publisher Location: Seattle, Washington
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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