Do the Returns to Community Colleges Differ between Academic and Vocational Programs?
利用NLSY数据，发现社区大学职业培训项目的回报率与四年制大学未毕业者相当，且学生存在正向自选择。
Abstract This paper provides new evidence about the payoffs to community colleges’ terminal training programs as distinct from their traditional transfer function. Using NLSY data, we offer three main findings. First, four-year college graduates who started at a community college are not at a substantial earnings disadvantage relative to those who started at a four-year college. Second, community college students in terminal training programs enjoy a positive payoff comparable to that received by four-year college starters who do not graduate. Finally, we find evidence of positive self-selection for community college students who choose the terminal training track.