Does It Pay to Attend an Elite Private College?
Cross-Cohort Evidence on the Effects of College Type on Earnings
Although a substantial and rising labor market premium is associated with college attendance in general, little is known about how this premium varies across institutions of different types and across time. In this paper the authors explicitly model high school students' choice of college type (characterized by selectivity and control) based on individual and family characteristics (including ability and parental economic status) and an estimate of the net costs of attendance. The authors estimate selectivity-corrected outcome equations using data from both the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and High School and Beyond, which permit them to determine the effects of college quality on wages and earnings and how this effect varies across time. Even after controlling for selection effects, strong evidence emerges of a significant economic return to attending an elite private institution, and some evidence suggests this premium has increased over time.
Originally published in: The Journal of Human Resources, v. XXXIV, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 104-123.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Reprint series. The Reprint was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1992 to 2011 that represented previously published journal articles, book chapters, and reports with the permission of the publisher. RAND reprints were formally reviewed in accordance with the publisher's editorial policy and compliant with RAND's rigorous quality assurance standards for quality and objectivity. For select current RAND journal articles, see External Publications.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.