Dropping Out of Graduate/Professional Education: Implications for Labor Force Participation, Employment, and Earnings

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 78
  In Roundtable Session: Post-Graduation and Labor Market Outcomes

Abstract

The economic return of higher education has been broadly discussed for degree holders, both at undergraduate and graduate levels. However, no empirical study focuses on people who received some graduate education but left without earning a degree. Guided by human capital theory, the current study examines labor market outcomes of a cohort of first-time baccalaureate degree recipients four years after earning their degrees by post-baccalaureate education attainment. The study found no statistically significant difference in terms of labor force participation, employment status, and earnings between those who pursued, but left without earning a graduate/professional degree and those who never pursued it.

Authors

• Ziyan Bai, University of Washington - Seattle

• Hironao Okahana, Council of Graduate Schools