The Analysis of Field Choice in College and Graduate School

Choosing a Major and a Partner: Field of Study and Union Formation Among College-Educated Women in Europe

In this paper, we explore the patterns of assortative mating among college-educated women who graduated from typically female, typically male, or mixed disciplines. Using a set of cross-sectional observations of a single cohort of female graduates (2010) from European Union Labour Force Survey data and applying multilevel multinomial logit models, we estimated the relative risk of living with a college-educated partner (homogamy), living with less educated partner (hypogamy), or being single. Focusing on the first five years after graduation, the analysis demonstrated that field of study is a significant predictor of mating behaviour. Women with degrees in male-dominated fields are less likely to partner down with less educated men. The mating advantage of women from male-dominated fields is stronger in countries with a higher female employment rate. Furthermore, more liberal gender roles seem to increase the level of singlehood among women from male-dominated fields. Finally, women from female-dominated and mixed disciplines are more likely to partner down if the man graduated from a male-typical discipline. However, among women from male-dominated disciplines, such a trade-off was not observed.

The role of wage beliefs in the decision to become a nurse

In light of skilled-labor shortage, the effect of a change in the wage of nurses on their labor supply is intensely discussed in recent literature. Using extensive data of German 14- to 15-year-olds, I analyze the role of the beliefs about a nurse's wage in the decision to become one. To estimate a partial effect, I select controls and their functional form using post-double-selection, which is a data-driven selection method based on regression shrinkage. Highlighting the importance of wages at the extensive margin of labor supply, the wage beliefs play a positive and statistically significant role. Although information is publicly available, educational choices knowingly suffer from misinformation. I find that especially those who do not become a nurse understate the wage. The results lead to two important policy implications. First, increasing the wage may help to overcome the shortage observed in many countries. Second, providing more information on the (relative) wage may be a successful strategy to attract more individuals into this profession. To assess the sensitivity of the results regarding omitted variable bias, I apply a novel approach. It turns out that potential unobserved confounders would have to be strong to overrule the conclusions.

The importance of STEM: High school knowledge, skills and occupations in an era of growing inequality

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) jobs have grown in importance in the labor market in recent decades, and they are widely seen as the jobs of the future. Using data from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey, we first investigate the role of employment in STEM occupations when it comes to recent changes in the occupational employment distribution in the U.S. labor market. Next, with data from the High School and Beyond sophomore cohort (Class of 1982) recent midlife follow-up, we investigate the importance of high school students' mathematics and science coursework, knowledge, and skills for midlife occupations. The Class of 1982 completed high school prior to technological changes altering the demand for labor. We find that individuals who took more advanced levels of high school mathematics coursework enjoyed occupations with a higher percentile rank in the average wage distribution and were more likely to hold STEM-related occupations. Findings suggest that the mathematics coursework enabled workers to adapt and navigate changing labor market demands.

The impact of COVID-19 on student experiences and expectations: Evidence from a survey

In order to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education, we surveyed approximately 1500 students at one of the largest public institutions in the United States using an instrument designed to recover the causal impact of the pandemic on students' current and expected outcomes. Results show large negative effects across many dimensions. Due to COVID-19: 13% of students have delayed graduation, 40% have lost a job, internship, or job offer, and 29% expect to earn less at age 35. Moreover, these effects have been highly heterogeneous. One quarter of students increased their study time by more than 4 hours per week due to COVID-19, while another quarter decreased their study time by more than 5 hours per week. This heterogeneity often followed existing socioeconomic divides. Lower-income students are 55% more likely than their higher-income peers to have delayed graduation due to COVID-19. Finally, we show that the economic and health related shocks induced by COVID-19 vary systematically by socioeconomic factors and constitute key mediators in explaining the large (and heterogeneous) effects of the pandemic.