Professional competencies are a key factor in gauging how employable a graduate is. This paper demonstrates that individuals who have best developed the competencies which firms feel to be most important are more likely to be in a position to obtain a job. To this end, we have developed an indicator that measures the proximity between the relative…

In this paper we estimate a structural model of higher education participation and labour choices in a static setting that accounts for individual heterogeneity and possible nesting structures in the decision process. We assume that young people that complete upper secondary education are faced with three choices, go to higher education, not go to…

This paper adds to the understanding of student decisions about graduate school attendance by studying the magnitude of the effect of business cycle fluctuations on enrollment. I use data on graduate school enrollment from the Current Population Survey and statewide variation in unemployment rates across time to proxy for changes in business cycle…

This paper explores the relationship between tuition fees charged by MBA programmes and the number of applications to these programmes, using a panel dataset comprising universities from countries across the world. Using Three-Stage-Least-Squares methods for simultaneous equations, we find a two-way relationship between tuition fees and…

This paper explores contributions of qualitative research to saving theory for children, youth, and parents in children's development account (CDAs) programs. It brings together findings from three studies: (1) elementary school age children saving for college, (2) youth transitioning from foster care saving for education and other purposes, and…

With the increasing attention on improving student achievement, private tutoring has been expanding rapidly worldwide. However, the evidence on the effect of private tutoring is inconclusive for education researchers and policy makers. Employing a comprehensive dataset collected from China in 2010, this study tries to identify the effect of…

This study investigates the incidence of over-education amongst recent Australian bachelor degree graduates and its effect on their earnings. We find that between 24% and 37% of graduates were over-educated shortly after course completion, with over-education most common amongst young females and least common amongst older females. Over-education…

While there is wide agreement that leaders matter, little is known regarding the role that human capital plays in determining who becomes one. We exploit unique attributes of the higher education industry to examine if training and academic ability affect the placement of university presidents within the research hierarchy of U.S. institutions.…

This paper quantifies the extent of student-college "academic undermatch," which occurs when a student's academic credentials permit them access to a college or university that is more selective than the postsecondary alternative they actually choose. Using a nationally representative dataset, we find that 41 percent of students undermatch in…

This special issue of Economics of Education Review explores the role of savings and asset holding in post-secondary educational achievement. Most college success research has focused on income rather than assets as a predictor, and most college financing policy has focused on tuition support and educational debt, rather than asset accumulation.…

A large body of evidence indicates that socioeconomic status (SES) is a strong predictor of school achievement, college graduation and child outcomes in general. Better developmental and health outcomes are strongly associated with family assets, income and education. We introduce a model incorporating a range of theoretical and empirical…

This paper presents evidence from a randomized field experiment testing the impact of a 3-year matched savings program on educational outcomes 10 years after the start of the experiment. We examine the effect of an Individual Development Account (IDA) program on (1) educational enrollment, (2) degree completion, and (3) increased education level.…

The effects of parental assets on children's educational outcomes have mainly been explored from the perspective of asset holdings. However, the process of asset accumulation may also have effects. While asset-based policies are predicated on the premise of asset accumulation, little is known about the effects of different asset accumulation…

This is the first study to examine whether parents' college savings is positively associated with enrollment in postsecondary education of students in special education programs. In addition to examining postsecondary school enrollment among students with disabilities, we also examine whether students' and parents' college expectations act as a…

Changes in financial aid policies raise questions about students being asked to pay too much for college and whether parents' college savings for their children helps reduce the burden on students to pay for college. Using trivariate probit analysis with predicted probabilities, in this exploratory study we find recent changes in the financial aid…