Estimates of earnings returns by field of study for-profit schools and community colleges

Christopher Jepsen; Peter Mueser; Kenneth Troske; Kyung Seong Jeon

doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102675

Estimates of earnings returns by field of study for-profit schools and community colleges

Christopher Jepsen, Peter Mueser, Kenneth Troske, Kyung Seong Jeon

Economics

Producción científica: Article › revisión exhaustiva

Resumen

We estimate labor-market returns for students pursuing certificates or associate's degrees in eight broad fields of study at for-profit institutions and community colleges. The data contain 400,000 students beginning their studies between 2005 and 2012 in one state. We estimate two-step models to address recent econometric concerns with two-way fixed-effects models. Our analyses show important differences in return by field, with similar patterns for for-profit schools and community colleges. Apart from those studying in health fields, returns are generally greater for those attending for-profit schools than those attending community colleges. Higher estimated overall returns for for-profit schools are not primarily due to differences in areas of study.

Idioma original	English
Número de artículo	102675
Publicación	Economics of Education Review
Volumen	107
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102675
Estado	Published - ago 2025

Nota bibliográfica

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)

Financiación

\u2606 We thank the European Commission (Marie Curie Career Integration Grants) and the Spencer Foundation (Small Grants) for financial assistance. We thank seminar participants at the UCD Geary Institute, IRVAPP (Trento), Free University of Bolzano, and the University of Zurich for useful comments and suggestions. Several individuals in the state Department of Higher Education provided invaluable assistance in procuring and interpreting the school data. All opinions and errors are the authors\u2019 sole responsibility.

Financiadores	Número del financiador
UCD Geary Institute
Department of Higher Education, Science & Technology and Biotechnology, Government of West Bengal, India
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
European Commission
Universität Zürich
Spencer Foundation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education
Economics and Econometrics

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title = "Estimates of earnings returns by field of study for-profit schools and community colleges",

abstract = "We estimate labor-market returns for students pursuing certificates or associate's degrees in eight broad fields of study at for-profit institutions and community colleges. The data contain 400,000 students beginning their studies between 2005 and 2012 in one state. We estimate two-step models to address recent econometric concerns with two-way fixed-effects models. Our analyses show important differences in return by field, with similar patterns for for-profit schools and community colleges. Apart from those studying in health fields, returns are generally greater for those attending for-profit schools than those attending community colleges. Higher estimated overall returns for for-profit schools are not primarily due to differences in areas of study.",

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AU - Mueser, Peter

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PY - 2025/8

Y1 - 2025/8

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AB - We estimate labor-market returns for students pursuing certificates or associate's degrees in eight broad fields of study at for-profit institutions and community colleges. The data contain 400,000 students beginning their studies between 2005 and 2012 in one state. We estimate two-step models to address recent econometric concerns with two-way fixed-effects models. Our analyses show important differences in return by field, with similar patterns for for-profit schools and community colleges. Apart from those studying in health fields, returns are generally greater for those attending for-profit schools than those attending community colleges. Higher estimated overall returns for for-profit schools are not primarily due to differences in areas of study.

KW - For-profit schools

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Estimates of earnings returns by field of study for-profit schools and community colleges

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