Can Falling Supply Explain the Rising Return to College for Younger Men? A Cohort-Based Analysis

S-Tier
Journal: Quarterly Journal of Economics
Year: 2001
Volume: 116
Issue: 2
Pages: 705-746

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Although the college-high school wage gap for younger U. S. men has doubled over the past 30 years, the gap for older men has remained nearly constant. In the United Kingdom and Canada the college-high school wage gap also increased for younger relative to older men. Using a model with imperfect substitution between similarly educated workers in different age groups, we argue that these shifts reflect changes in the relative supply of highly educated workers across age groups. The driving force behind these changes is the slowdown in the rate of growth of educational attainment that began with cohorts born in the early 1950s in all three countries.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:qjecon:v:116:y:2001:i:2:p:705-746.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25