Measurement error in human capital and the black-white wage gap

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Proxy variables are frequently used in economics to control for unavailable variables in a linear regression setting. For example, AFQT scores have been used to control for human capital accumulation in measuring black-white wage differentials. This practice may bias the coefficient estimates for the correctly measured variables as well. This paper models proxy variables as a measurement error process and derives bounds for the coefficients on the correctly measured variables under a variety of assumptions. The results show that the coefficient on race in a linear regression is an overstatement of the actual black-white wage gap. Sensitivity analysis suggests that if human capital could be correctly measured it would be unlikely that the coefficient on black would be negative.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)578-585
Number of pages8
JournalReview of Economics and Statistics
Volume85
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Economics and Econometrics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Measurement error in human capital and the black-white wage gap'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this