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Measuring the earnings returns to accredited adult learning in the UK

Measuring the earnings returns to accredited adult learning in the UK
Measuring the earnings returns to accredited adult learning in the UK
This paper examines the earnings returns to learning that takes place following the conventional 'school-to-work' stage of the life-course. We operationalise such 'lifelong learning' as the attainment of certified qualifications in adulthood, following the completion of the first period of continuous full-time education. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) for the period 1991-2006, our approach and findings represent an important addition to the existing evidence base. By using annual data, we are able to employ the fixed effects estimator, which eliminates the problem of time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity. Our dynamic specification uses a lag structure to consider how earnings returns evolve in the medium and longer run, while also controlling for wage trends which were evident prior to qualification attainment. Our results show a medium-run return for women of 10% on hourly wages. For men, initial suggestions of a similar positive return are eliminated once pre-qualification trends are taken into account. This suggests that adult learning has a causal effect on women's subsequent earnings but, for men, any apparent gain is due to selection.
adult learning, earnings, qualifications
0272-7757
501-514
Blanden, Jo
64718f36-373c-4028-b8eb-b0ee3441bb1a
Buscha, Franz
425351f5-9eb4-40fe-b60a-77546e228851
Sturgis, Patrick J.
b9f6b40c-50d2-4117-805a-577b501d0b3c
Urwin, Peter
2d27b7d7-bbcd-4658-b8cb-80836cd9257b
Blanden, Jo
64718f36-373c-4028-b8eb-b0ee3441bb1a
Buscha, Franz
425351f5-9eb4-40fe-b60a-77546e228851
Sturgis, Patrick J.
b9f6b40c-50d2-4117-805a-577b501d0b3c
Urwin, Peter
2d27b7d7-bbcd-4658-b8cb-80836cd9257b

Blanden, Jo, Buscha, Franz, Sturgis, Patrick J. and Urwin, Peter (2012) Measuring the earnings returns to accredited adult learning in the UK. Economics of Education Review, 31 (4), 501-514. (doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.12.009).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper examines the earnings returns to learning that takes place following the conventional 'school-to-work' stage of the life-course. We operationalise such 'lifelong learning' as the attainment of certified qualifications in adulthood, following the completion of the first period of continuous full-time education. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) for the period 1991-2006, our approach and findings represent an important addition to the existing evidence base. By using annual data, we are able to employ the fixed effects estimator, which eliminates the problem of time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity. Our dynamic specification uses a lag structure to consider how earnings returns evolve in the medium and longer run, while also controlling for wage trends which were evident prior to qualification attainment. Our results show a medium-run return for women of 10% on hourly wages. For men, initial suggestions of a similar positive return are eliminated once pre-qualification trends are taken into account. This suggests that adult learning has a causal effect on women's subsequent earnings but, for men, any apparent gain is due to selection.

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Published date: August 2012
Keywords: adult learning, earnings, qualifications
Organisations: Social Statistics & Demography

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 208125
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/208125
ISSN: 0272-7757
PURE UUID: f00c1afd-4df8-44c9-beac-2a6a0ebff0df
ORCID for Patrick J. Sturgis: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1180-3493

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Date deposited: 19 Jan 2012 12:15
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:42

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Contributors

Author: Jo Blanden
Author: Franz Buscha
Author: Patrick J. Sturgis ORCID iD
Author: Peter Urwin

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