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Title: Egalitarianism and the Returns to Education during the Great Transformation of American Education

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 1999

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Abstract: Secondary school education greatly expanded in the United Statesfrom 1910 to 1940, setting its schooling attainment apart from thatof all other countries. Barely 10 percent of youth were high schoolgraduates in 1910, but by the mid 1930s the median youth had ahigh school diploma. In some regions, by the 1930s enrollmentand graduation rates rose to levels that were as high as they wouldbe two decades later. The issue addressed here concerns the economicimpact of the large increase in the supply of educated labor.Evidence is presented concerning the sharp decline in the wagepremium to ordinary white-collar workers. With the expansion ofthe high school, large numbers of Americans competed for positionsin the coveted white-collar sector. Although the return to ayear of high school remained considerable on the eve of WorldWar II, egalitarianism had evened the playing field for a substantialsegment of Americans.

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Authors: Goldin, Claudia

Periodical (Full): Journal of Political Economy

Issue: 6

Volume: 107

Pages: 65-94

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

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