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Author: Maloney, Timothy
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Maloney, Timothy
Estimating the Returns to a High School Education for Female Dropouts
Working Paper, Bowdoin College, 1990
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Bowdoin College
Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Dropouts; Earnings; Education, Secondary; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; Employment; GED/General Educational Diploma/General Equivalency Degree/General Educational Development; High School Dropouts; Welfare

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Some recent welfare reform proposals emphasize the need to increase the general educational attainment of welfare recipients who have dropped out of high school. This study uses data from the NLSY to empirically estimate the impact on the earnings capacities of young female dropouts if they were to return to complete either a regular high school education or a General Education Development (GED) degree. To reduce the upward bias on these estimated rates of return, dropouts are allowed to have lower levels of innate ability and lower rates of human capital accumulation in school. After controlling for the sample selection bias associated with the observation of wage rates among only employed women, the rates of return for the average dropout are estimated to be 21.5 percent for a high school diploma and 16.4 percent for a GED degree. After allowing for self selection in the decision of whether or not to complete a secondary education, these estimated rates of return fall slightly to 18.7 percent and 14 percent, respectively. However, because of differences in other productivity characteristics, this education would only eliminate up to one-half of the substantial gaps that already exist in the earnings capacities between dropouts and either high school graduates or GED recipients.
Bibliography Citation
Maloney, Timothy. "Estimating the Returns to a High School Education for Female Dropouts." Working Paper, Bowdoin College, 1990.
2. Maloney, Timothy
Estimating the Returns to a Secondary Education for Female Dropouts
ERIC Document No. ED397169; Clearinghouse No. UD031047; February 1991
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: ERIC
Keyword(s): Dropouts; Education, Secondary; Educational Attainment; GED/General Educational Diploma/General Equivalency Degree/General Educational Development; Gender Differences; High School; High School Diploma; Human Capital; Sample Selection; Selectivity Bias/Selection Bias; Wage Rates

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are used to estimate empirically the impact on the earnings capacities of young female dropouts if they were to return to complete either a regular high school education or a General Educational Development (GED) degree. To reduce the potential upward bias on these estimated rates of return, dropouts are allowed to have lower levels of innate ability and lower rates of human capital accumulation in school. After controlling for the sample selection bias associated with the observation of wage rates among only employed women, the rates of return for the average dropout are estimated to be 10.2% for a high school diploma and 6.2% for a GED degree. After allowing for self-selection in the decision of whether or not to complete a secondary education, these estimated rates of return actually rise slightly to 10.9% and 6.5% respectively. Because of differences in other productivity characteristics, this education would only eliminate up to one-third of the substantial gap that already exists between the earnings capacities of dropouts and secondary school completers. (Contains 8 tables and 16 references.) (Author/SLD)
Bibliography Citation
Maloney, Timothy. "Estimating the Returns to a Secondary Education for Female Dropouts." ERIC Document No. ED397169; Clearinghouse No. UD031047; February 1991.