The Labor Market Returns to Short-Term Credentials

Abstract I propose to examine the following research question in this project: What are the labor market benefits of short-term educational and vocational credentials? Over the past twenty years, about one out of every four postsecondary credentials awarded each year in the United States are certificates below the associate’s degree level. In recent years, that means that US postsecondary education institutions distributes about one million such credentials annually. Yet, evidence on short-term credentials is relatively limited, even though there is notable policy push to increase the number of students pursuing short-term and vocational certificates in many states and nationally. Therefore, there is ample opportunity to better understand the labor market benefits and educational patterns of such pursuits.