ERIC Number: ED661558
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Nov
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
More Money for Less Time? Examining the Relative and Heterogenous Financial Returns to Non-Degree Credentials and Degree Programs. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-1046
Jason Jabbari; Yung Chun; Xueying Mei; Stephen Roll
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
There is a large and growing number of non-degree credential offerings between a high school diploma and a bachelor's degree, as well as degree programs beyond a bachelor's degree. Nevertheless, research on the financial returns to non-degree credentials and degree-granting programs is often narrow and siloed. To fill this gap, we leverage a national sample of individuals across nine MSAs and four industries to examine the relative financial returns to a variety of non-degree credentials and degree programs. Leveraging fixed-effect models, we explore the relationship between completing a credential or degree and earnings premiums. We find that an associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctorate degree follows a similar model of returns in which the number of schooling years is linearly related to proportional earnings premiums. However, students completing sub-baccalaureate certificates, post-baccalaureate certificates, and non-school credentials appear to get larger financial returns for less time. Furthermore, while the returns to both non-degree credentials and degree granting programs generally favored males over females and non-binary persons, this was not the case for race/ethnicity. Although individuals from Asian and White racial/ethnic groups often maintained an advantage in traditional education settings, Black individuals earned greater premiums from non-school credentials than White individuals, which may represent an opportunity to close racial/ethnic gaps in earnings.
Descriptors: Noncredit Courses, Outcomes of Education, Certification, Gender Differences, Racial Factors, Postsecondary Education, Income, Sex, Race, Ethnicity
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: AISR_Info@brown.edu; Web site: http://www.annenberginstitute.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Lumina Foundation
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Location: California (San Francisco); Colorado (Denver); Texas (Austin); Missouri; Illinois (Chicago); Tennessee (Nashville); Massachusetts (Boston); New York (New York); Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A


