Rising wage inequality and postgraduate education

"This paper considers what has hitherto been a relatively neglected subject in the wage inequality literature, albeit one that has been becoming more important over time, namely the role played by increases in postgraduate education. We document increases in the number of workers with a postgra...

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Main Authors: Lindley, Joanne, Machin, Stephen
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: London 2011
LSE
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19136517124919547999-Rising-wage-inequality-and-pos.htm
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author Lindley, Joanne
Machin, Stephen
author_facet Lindley, Joanne
Machin, Stephen
collection Library items
description "This paper considers what has hitherto been a relatively neglected subject in the wage inequality literature, albeit one that has been becoming more important over time, namely the role played by increases in postgraduate education. We document increases in the number of workers with a postgraduate qualification in the United States and Great Britain. We also show their relative wages have risen over time as compared to all workers and more specifically to graduates with only a college degree. Consideration of shifts in demand and supply shows postgraduates and college only workers to be imperfect substitutes in production and that there have been trend increases over time in the relative demand for postgraduate vis-à-vis college only workers. These relative demand shifts are significantly correlated with technical change as measured by changes in industry computer usage and investment. Moreover, the skills sets possessed by postgraduates and the occupations in which they are employed are significantly different to those of college only graduates. Over the longer term period when computers have massively diffused into workplaces, it turns out that the principal beneficiaries of this computer revolution has not been all graduates, but those more skilled workers who have a postgraduate qualification. This has been an important driver of rising wage inequality amongst graduates over time."
format TEXT
geographic United Kingdom
USA
id 19136517124919547999_9021d549237f4df2ae686a10d4ee9fff
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19136517124919547999_9021d549237f4df2ae686a10d4ee9fff
is_hierarchy_title Rising wage inequality and postgraduate education
language English
physical 55 p.
Digital
publishDate 2011
publisher London
LSE
spellingShingle Lindley, Joanne
Machin, Stephen
education
educational level
statistics
technological change
wage differential
Rising wage inequality and postgraduate education
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=112202493048
title Rising wage inequality and postgraduate education
topic education
educational level
statistics
technological change
wage differential
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19136517124919547999-Rising-wage-inequality-and-pos.htm