Back to School? Labor-Market Returns to Vocational Postsecondary Education
37 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2015
Abstract
Outside the U.S., little is known about the labor-market returns to vocational (or polytechnic) postsecondary education. This paper focuses on the labor-market returns to polytechnic bachelor's degrees in Finland. Using detailed administrative data, we estimate person fixed effect models to study returns for individuals with labor-force attachment prior to polytechnic school enrollment. We find sizable earnings and employment impacts for polytechnic bachelor's degrees, although the returns vary by personal characteristics and field of study.
Keywords: vocational education, postsecondary education, labor-market returns
JEL Classification: J24, I26
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation