The Varied Economic Returns to Postsecondary Education: New Evidence from the Class of 1972
利用1972届班级的全国纵向调查数据，基于成绩单而非自我报告，精确估计了各类高等教育学历（如学士、副学士、证书）对32岁左右收入的影响，发现副学士和证书通过增加工作经验和在职培训间接提高收入，而未完成学历者收入与高中毕业生无显著差异。
This paper estimates the returns to postsecondary education using the National Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1972, with earnings measured at about age 32. The results are based on transcripts, rather than self-reports about the amount of education, allowing postsecondary education to be more precisely described than usual. The results confirm the well-known returns to B.A. degrees. Other credentials-associate degrees, and certificates for women-also lead to higher earnings and wage rates, though indirectly: these credentials gain individuals access to jobs where they accumulate more experience and on-the-job training, but provide no further advantage once experience and OJT are controlled. Most individuals who enroll in postsecondary education but fail to complete credentials have no higher earnings than high school graduates. The effects of experience, high school achievement, and family background are familiar. The results indicate a fundamental difference between labor markets for college graduates and the sub-baccalaureate labor market.