Skill uncertainty and social inference

Oxoby, Robert J.

doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2007.06.006

“…3 As pointed out by Oxoby (2008), students also infer their own ability from observations of similar individuals, who successfully took the same path. 2015) or examine the effect of information on the application process for college and financial aid (Bettinger, Long, Oreopoulos, and Sanbonmatsu, 2012;Hoxby and Turner, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intended College Enrollment and Educational Inequality: Do Students Lack Information?

Peter

¹

,

Zambre

²

2016

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractDespite increasing access to university education, students from disadvantaged or non-academic family backgrounds are still underrepresented at universities. In this regard, the economic literature mainly studies the effect of financial constraints on post-secondary educational decisions. Our knowledge on potential effects of other constraints regarding university education is more limited. We investigate the causal relationship between information and educational expectations using data from a German randomized controlled trial in which students in high schools were treated with information on the benefits as well as on different funding possibilities for university education. We find that the provision of information increases intended college enrollment for students from a non-academic family background, while it leads students from academic backgrounds to lower their enrollment intentions. Our results suggest that educational inequality can be reduced by providing students with relevant information, while simultaneously improving post-secondary education matches.Keywords: Randomized Controlled Trial, Information Deficit, Educational Expectation, College Enrollment, Educational Inequality JEL: I21, I24, J24$ We especially thank our colleagues from the project team at DIW Berlin -C. Katharina Spieß, Johanna Storck, and Mathias Huebener; and at WZB -Heike Solga, Alessandra Rusconi, Claudia Finger, and Martin Ehlert. Moreover, we thank Susan Dynarski, Brian McCall and Astrid Würtz Rasmussen as well as participants of the 6th IWAEE conference, the 4th SOLE/EALE world conference, the 2015 EEA Annual Congress and the 2016 AEA Annual Meeting for valuable comments. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Einstein Foundation Berlin (A-2010-025 (FU)). The usual disclaimer applies.

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“…Further, to the extent that job vacancy rates differ across occupations that require varying skill levels, the quotas can change the overall skill composition and occupational structure of the labor market. Oxoby (2008) presents a model of individual occupational choice that emphasizes the indirect influence of the previous labor market outcomes of older generations on the occupational choices of younger generations who observed the earlier outcomes. For instance, if disadvantaged minorities are uncertain about their innate ability to obtain a particular type of occupation, then they will form a probabilistic assessment of their skill level when making a choice.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and Estimation Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Employment Quotas Explain the Occupational Choices of Disadvantaged Minorities in India?

Prakash

¹

,

Howard

²

2011

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. Terms of use: Documents in D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E SIZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.IZA Discussion Paper No. 5894 July 2011 ABSTRACT Do Employment Quotas Explain the Occupational Choices of Disadvantaged Minorities in India?* This article investigates the effects of a large-scale public sector employment quota policy for disadvantaged minorities (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) in India on their occupational choices, as defined by skill level, during the 1980s and 1990s. We find that, first, the employment quota policy significantly affects the occupational structure of both disadvantaged minority populations. In response to the employment quotas, individuals belonging to the Scheduled Caste group are more likely to choose high-skill occupations and less likely to choose low-and middle-skill occupations, while individuals belonging to the Scheduled Tribe group are less likely to choose high-skill occupations and more likely to choose low-and middle-skill occupations. Second, the impact of the employment quotas is significantly related with an individual's years of schooling. Overall, the results indicate that the employment quota policy changes the occupational choices of individuals within the targeted populations and contributes to their improved socio-economic standing.JEL Classification: J62, J61, J24, O10, O2

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Intended college enrollment and educational inequality: Do students lack information?

Peter

¹

,

Zambre

²

2017

Economics of Education Review

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractDespite increasing access to university education, students from disadvantaged or non-academic family backgrounds are still underrepresented at universities. In this regard, the economic literature mainly studies the effect of financial constraints on post-secondary educational decisions. Our knowledge on potential effects of other constraints regarding university education is more limited. We investigate the causal relationship between information and educational expectations using data from a German randomized controlled trial in which students in high schools were treated with information on the benefits as well as on different funding possibilities for university education. We find that the provision of information increases intended college enrollment for students from a non-academic family background, while it leads students from academic backgrounds to lower their enrollment intentions. Our results suggest that educational inequality can be reduced by providing students with relevant information, while simultaneously improving post-secondary education matches.Keywords: Randomized Controlled Trial, Information Deficit, Educational Expectation, College Enrollment, Educational Inequality JEL: I21, I24, J24$ We especially thank our colleagues from the project team at DIW Berlin -C. Katharina Spieß, Johanna Storck, and Mathias Huebener; and at WZB -Heike Solga, Alessandra Rusconi, Claudia Finger, and Martin Ehlert. Moreover, we thank Susan Dynarski, Brian McCall and Astrid Würtz Rasmussen as well as participants of the 6th IWAEE conference, the 4th SOLE/EALE world conference, the 2015 EEA Annual Congress and the 2016 AEA Annual Meeting for valuable comments. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Einstein Foundation Berlin (A-2010-025 (FU)). The usual disclaimer applies.

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Skill uncertainty and social inference

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Intended College Enrollment and Educational Inequality: Do Students Lack Information?

Intended College Enrollment and Educational Inequality: Do Students Lack Information?

Do Employment Quotas Explain the Occupational Choices of Disadvantaged Minorities in India?

Intended college enrollment and educational inequality: Do students lack information?

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