Estimating the Labor Market Returns of the General Educational Development

• In Event: 35.050 - Advancing Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research: Who Is Served by CTE and How Does CTE Serve Them?

Abstract

This paper is the first study to use the 2002 Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002) dataset to investigate the economic returns to earning a General Educational Diploma (GED). The ELS:2002 data included a sample of about 15,000 10th grade students in 2002, and information on earnings and hours worked in 2011 are available. After controlling for pre-existing ability, dropouts and GED holders were indistinguishable in terms of subsequent income and hours worked in 2011. Traditional high school diplomas were associated with an increase in earnings of about 25%. Additionally, an interaction between GED and test scores was modeled to allow for the possibility of differential impacts of the GED based on cognitive ability; no significant interaction was found.

Author

• Nicholas Anderson, Teachers College, Columbia University