Closure and matching payoffs from college majors

IF 3.2 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Socio-Economic Review Pub Date : 2023-10-24 DOI:10.1093/ser/mwad059

Dirk Witteveen, Paul Attewell

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the undergraduate major as a closure mechanism in occupations among college graduates, using the American Community Surveys. We measure the college major density of occupations, termed “major specialization”, finding that greater major specialization of an occupation is associated with higher earnings, over and above previously identified closure devices (licensure, unionization, and vertical educational credentialing), and college selectivity. We conclude that major specialization operates as a powerful earnings-boosting closure device within higher-educated labor markets. Additional analyses regarding premiums from individuals matching their own college major with their occupation’s typical major indicate comparatively small earnings payoffs. Hence, deviating from one’s occupation’s usual credential does not generate a substantial earnings penalty. Furthermore, payoffs from major-occupation matching have a ceiling: there is no further payoff above the average match level. These findings demonstrate how occupational closure theory helps explain the substantial earnings advantages of certain college majors in the labor force.

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大学专业的关闭和匹配回报

摘要:本文利用美国社区调查研究了本科专业作为大学毕业生职业关闭机制。我们测量了职业的大学专业密度，称为“专业专业化”，发现一个职业的专业专业化程度越高，收入越高，超过了之前确定的封闭手段(执照、工会组织和垂直教育证书)和大学选择性。我们得出的结论是，在高学历劳动力市场中，专业专业化是一种强大的促进收入增长的封闭机制。另外一项关于将自己的大学专业与职业典型专业相匹配的个人溢价的分析表明，收入回报相对较小。因此，偏离一个人的职业通常的证书不会产生实质性的收入损失。此外，专业职业匹配的收益有一个上限:在平均匹配水平之上没有进一步的收益。这些发现证明了职业封闭理论如何有助于解释劳动力中某些大学专业的实质性收入优势。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Socio-Economic Review Multiple-

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

10.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Originating in the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE), Socio-Economic Review (SER) is part of a broader movement in the social sciences for the rediscovery of the socio-political foundations of the economy. Devoted to the advancement of socio-economics, it deals with the analytical, political and moral questions arising at the intersection between economy and society. Articles in SER explore how the economy is or should be governed by social relations, institutional rules, political decisions, and cultural values. They also consider how the economy in turn affects the society of which it is part, for example by breaking up old institutional forms and giving rise to new ones. The domain of the journal is deliberately broadly conceived, so new variations to its general theme may be discovered and editors can learn from the papers that readers submit. To enhance international dialogue, Socio-Economic Review accepts the submission of translated articles that are simultaneously published in a language other than English. In pursuit of its program, SER is eager to promote interdisciplinary dialogue between sociology, economics, political science and moral philosophy, through both empirical and theoretical work. Empirical papers may be qualitative as well as quantitative, and theoretical papers will not be confined to deductive model-building. Papers suggestive of more generalizable insights into the economy as a domain of social action will be preferred over narrowly specialized work. While firmly committed to the highest standards of scholarly excellence, Socio-Economic Review encourages discussion of the practical and ethical dimensions of economic action, with the intention to contribute to both the advancement of social science and the building of a good economy in a good society.