The Value of a College Degree: An Audit Study of College Selectivity, Race, and Horizontal Stratification

• In Event: Postsecondary Opportunities and Trajectories

Abstract

This project asks how the selectivity of the college an individual attends affects her labor market success and how this effect varies by race. I build on theories of human, cultural, and social capital and use an experimental research design known as an audit study to examine differences in applicants' outcomes in the labor market. I submit applications by pairs for a series of jobs posted on a national job website and record call-back information from employers. I then compare the call-back rates for different types of schools and examine the moderating effect of race. Results suggest that even when blacks have degrees from highly selective universities, they are at a 2-1 disadvantage compared to whites.

Author

• S. Michael Gaddis, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill