Der Masterabschluss als neues Distinktionsmerkmal? Konsequenzen der Studienstrukturreform für herkunftsbedingte Einkommensungleichheiten

Lörz, Markus; Leuze, Kathrin

doi:10.1007/978-3-658-22394-6_11

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, other dimensions, such as students' ethnicity or migration background, should be examined in more detail in future work (for an exception, see Jungbauer-Gans and Lang, 2019). And finally, a more comprehensive evaluation of implementing a two-cycle degree structure for the development of social inequality needs to study labour market success of those who leave higher education with a bachelor's versus a master's degree (Lörz and Leuze, 2019;Neugebauer and Weiss, 2018).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Reimer

Schwabe

2022

European Educational Research Journal

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For German higher education, the introduction of a two-cycle study structure resulted in a new transition stage after the completion of the bachelor’s degree. In contrast to some other countries, this structural change was stretched over a relatively long period. At the same time, the number of students enrolled in higher education has increased substantially. Existing empirical evidence indicates that starting a master’s degree programme is socially selective – in favour of students with tertiary qualified parents. Against this backdrop, we analyse how the level of social inequality at the new transition from the bachelor’s to the master’s level has developed over the course of the past two decades. Drawing on data from large-scale DZHW graduate surveys (graduate cohorts from the years 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017), we are able to replicate previous findings showing considerable social inequality at the transition to the master’s level. However, this inequality could not be detected for the 2005 graduate cohort, the ‘early adopters’. It seems that after an initial period of turmoil and uncertainty in the early stages of the implementation process, established patterns of inequality had re-emerged by the 2009 graduate cohort. We discuss the implications of our results for further research and policy-making.

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Reimer

Schwabe

2022

European Educational Research Journal

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“…Investments in human capital can take place via general schooling, vocational training, work experience, further education, or, as in this paper, higher education. In the following, we differentiate between the quantity and the quality of human capital, which are both suited to explaining the labor market returns of different degree holders (Leuze/Strauß 2009;Lörz/Leuze 2019).…”

Section: 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ing traditional or Master's degrees. On the other hand, one longitudinal study finds no strong increases in wage differentials between Bachelor's and Master's degrees over time, while students' socioeconomic background and extracurricular qualifications obtained during higher education, such as studying abroad or having a study-related job, matter more (Lörz/Leuze 2019).…”

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confidence: 96%

Degree Differentiation and Changing Career Outcomes of Higher Education Graduates in Germany: A Matter of Specialization, Extracurricular Activities or Labor Market Segmentation?

Kroher,

Leuze

2024

Career Paths Inside and Outside Academia

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With the introduction of Bachelor's/Master's programs, the higher education system in Germany profoundly changed from having a one-tier to having a two-tier degree structure. So far, however, there is surprisingly little evidence on how the introduction of the new degree system has changed students' employment outcomes. This paper therefore asks 1) whether we can observe over time rising labor market inequalities in terms of wages and adequate employment between graduates holding Bachelor's, Master's and traditional degrees, and, if yes, 2) how these labor market differentials between different degree holders might be explained. By applying human capital, signaling and labor market segmentation theory we develop hypotheses on differentiated labor market outcomes. These are tested by estimating linear regression models and Blinder-Oaxaca Decompositions based on two graduate cohorts from the DZHW Graduate Panel Study, who graduated in the years 2009 and 2013. Results indicate that Bachelor graduates earn less and have lower job adequacy than traditional (for example Diplom, Magister, Staatsexamen) and Master's degree holders. These labor market differentials are partly explained by internal labor market segments and extracurricular qualifications, mostly in form of study-related student jobs, while gaining specific human capital through higher education seems to matter less.

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“…On the other hand, the different duration of the two degrees might also be an inherent signal to employers. In this regard, both signaling as well as human capital approaches would suggest higher earnings for MA than for BA degrees due to both the quantity and the quality of graduates' investment in skills (Lörz & Leuze, 2019;Neugebauer & Weiss, 2018). However, while a human capital perspective would predict only more heterogeneous responses of employers during a transition period due to the additional uncertainty of the two new signals, signaling processes also suggest competing hypotheses about the reform's effects on graduates' returns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Signal and the Noise: The Impact of the Bologna Process on Swiss Graduates’ Monetary Returns to Higher Education

Glauser

Zangger

Becker

2019

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Using longitudinal data on university leaver cohorts in the period from 2006 to 2016, we investigate the impact of the Bologna reform on Swiss graduates’ returns to higher education. Drawing on the job market signaling model, we expect lower returns for graduates who enter the labor market with a bachelor’s degree. Moreover, we expect that the initial wage difference between bachelor and master graduates will become less volatile over time, since employers constantly update their beliefs about graduates’ employability. Controlling for selection into employment and a number of different signals sent by the graduates, we find a persistent advantage of a master’s over a bachelor’s degree. The new degrees, and especially a bachelor’s degree, did indeed serve as a noisy signal about graduates’ productivity in the first years of the Bologna process.

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Der Masterabschluss als neues Distinktionsmerkmal? Konsequenzen der Studienstrukturreform für herkunftsbedingte Einkommensungleichheiten

Cited by 4 publications

References 25 publications

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Degree Differentiation and Changing Career Outcomes of Higher Education Graduates in Germany: A Matter of Specialization, Extracurricular Activities or Labor Market Segmentation?

The Signal and the Noise: The Impact of the Bologna Process on Swiss Graduates’ Monetary Returns to Higher Education

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