231 M.J. Carvajal et al. Economics of Education Review 19 2000 229–243
3. The experience of graduates
The College of Business at Florida International Uni- versity conferred 808 baccalaureate degrees in 1994.
2
At least three attempts were made to contact each
alumnusalumna during December 1995 to February 1996, with a success rate of 43.7.
3
Of the 353 persons contacted, 36 declined to be interviewed and the remain-
ing 317 graduates responded as follows: 229 currently working; 18 searching for a job, which suggests an
unemployment rate of 7.3, somewhat higher than for the rest of the local labor market; 58 pursuing post-
baccalaureate degrees; and 12 not in the labor force for personal reasons. Ten of the graduates currently working
preferred not to report their earnings; they are excluded from the analysis. Thus, the sample for this portion of
the study consists of 219 graduates. Its composition by major is similar to the composition of the universe.
4
The results of a one-way analysis of variance ANOVA model reveal no statistically significant differ-
ences a
= 0.10 among majors in reported annual earn-
ings. Therefore, all alumni are treated as part of a homo- geneous data set. Instead of focusing on individual
majors such as Accounting, Finance, etc., the 219 alumni are considered as Business graduates, which increases
the robustness of estimators throughout the study.
The graduates in the sample are evenly distributed — 109 men and 110 women. Non-Hispanic Whites account
for less than a quarter 22.4 of the observation units, Blacks constitute 8.7, and Hispanics represent about
two-thirds 64.4; the remaining 4.5 are classified as belonging to other ethnic groups.
The overall mean salary reported by graduates is 29,331, men earning 7.1 more than women. This and
other mean comparisons of selected variables by gender appear in Table 1. Although the inter-gender gap is stat-
istically significant, it is not as broad as reported in other studies Morrison Von Glinow, 1990; National Center
for Education Statistics, 1993.
The level of annual earnings of a person or a group is affected by the number of hours worked. Waite,
Haggstrom and Kanouse 1986 suggest that parenthood
2
The composition by major of the 1994 graduates is as fol- lows: 161 in Accounting, 205 in Finance, 169 in Management,
73 in Decision Sciences, and 200 in Marketing.
3
Twenty-nine graduates are non-resident aliens without a social security card. The University Registrar’s Office estimates
that about 60 other graduates in the distribution are foreigners who have a social security card but are not eligible to enter the
US labor market because of their visa status. Considering that approximately 89 alumni 11.0 do not reside permanently in
the United States, the success rate is very high.
4
The composition by major of the sample of graduates is as follows: 42 in Accounting, 65 in Finance, 59 in Management,
23 in Decision Sciences, and 30 in Marketing.
tends to decrease female earnings as women work less to devote more time to their families, exchange pay for
convenience in choosing jobs, and forego training since they do not intend to work long enough to receive an
adequate return on their investment. An analysis of pay differentials must take into account potential gaps in
labor input. The 219 Business graduates in the sample report working an average of 43.0 hours per week, with
no significant inter-gender variation.
Conventional wisdom dictates that the level of human capital be identified as a determinant in the estimation
of any earnings function. Years of schooling is the most common variable used in the literature to measure the
positive effect of education on earnings Alwin, 1974; Amirault, 1994; Boyd, 1991a; Hecker, 1992a; Maxim,
1992; Shelley, 1994. In this study, schooling is the same for all alumni, so what is measured is the depth of their
educational attainment using cumulative grade point average as a proxy. Graduates with higher grade point
averages might be perceived by potential employers not only as more conscientious and possessing a broader and
more
specialized knowledge
of job-related
topics Braddock McPartland, 1987, but also capable of
generating critical levels of commitment, effort, and suc- cess. Consequently, they may be offered higher starting
salaries and more frequent promotions than their less accomplished peers. The data reveal that the overall
grade point average is 2.87 over 4.00. No significant differences between men and women are detected.
Age is another human-capital variable often included in the specification of earnings functions Borjas
Bronars, 1989; Boyd, 1990. Generally earnings are expected to rise with age, as growing expertise enhances
workers’ marginal productivity. Here age is not intended to measure experience after graduation for all obser-
vation units are recent graduates; rather, it measures experience in other job-related aspects and walks of life.
The mean age is 27.0 years, somewhat older than the typical age of recent graduates from other universities.
It reflects the urban nature of this institution. Men are slightly but significantly older than women.
Type of employer is yet another determinant of earn- ings differentials. If workers have preferences for certain
types of employer, they may be willing to accept lower wages for a job requiring the same skills, experience,
etc. relative to other employers. For example, Frank 1996 shows that workers have to be paid a compensat-
ing differential to work for firms that have a questionable moral reputation. Or some workers may prefer govern-
ment employment, even though they may earn relatively less than in the private sector, because the public sector
offers more job security; some people are willing to pay for more job security with lower salaries. Similarly, if
recent graduates place a high priority on opportunities for advancement or availability of fringe benefits, they
may accept a position with a well-established corpor-
232 M.J. Carvajal et al. Economics of Education Review 19 2000 229–243
Table 1 Means and standard deviations in parentheses of selected variables pertaining to recent graduates and college seniors, by gender
Variable Recent graduates
College seniors Total
Men Women
Total Men
Women n
= 219
n =
109 n
= 110
n =
248 n
= 145
n =
103 Annual earnings
29,331
a
30,345
b
28,326
b
31,782
a
32,579
c
30,660
c
8230 8853
7427 9703
10,793 7781
Labor input hours per week 43.0
d
42.8 43.1
44.2
d
44.8 43.2
7.9 7.9
7.9 10.4
10.0 10.8
Grade point average over 4.0 2.87
a
2.85 2.89
3.00
a
3.01 2.98
0.38 0.37
0.39 0.34
0.35 0.33
Age years 27.0
e
27.8
f
26.2
f
26.0
e
26.0 26.0
4.8 4.9
4.5 5.3
5.2 5.5
Type of employer 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 Large firm
49.8 48.6
50.9 47.2
42.8
b
53.4
b
Smallmedium firm 29.7
33.0 26.4
33.4 39.3
f
25.3
f
Public sector 7.7
5.5 10.0
9.3 6.9
c
12.6
c
Self-employment 8.7
10.1 7.3
8.9 11.0
c
5.8
c
Non-profit institution 3.2
2.8 3.6
– –
– Other
0.9 –
1.8 1.2
– 2.9
Type of job 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 Managerial
29.2
a
29.4 29.1
41.9
a
40.7 43.7
Professional 56.2
g
54.1 58.2
47.6
g
49.0 45.6
Technical 9.6
e
12.8
c
6.4
c
4.4
e
6.2
c
2.0
c
Other 5.0
3.7 6.3
6.1 4.1
c
8.7
c
Place of residence 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 Miami metropolitan area
90.0
a
90.8 89.1
67.3
a
69.7 64.1
Outside Miami 10.0
a
9.2 10.9
32.7
a
30.3 35.9
a
Mean of recent graduates significantly different from mean of college seniors a,0.01.
b
Gender means significantly different from each other a,0.10.
c
Gender means significantly different from each other a,0.20.
d
Mean of recent graduates significantly different from mean of college seniors a,0.20.
e
Mean of recent graduates significantly different from mean of college seniors a,0.05.
f
Gender means significantly different from each other a,0.05.
g
Mean of recent graduates significantly different from mean of college seniors a,0.10.
ation, which offers excellent opportunities and benefits, but pays less, than would the same position with a
smaller firm which cannot afford an extensive fringe- benefit package or offer a glamorous corporate future.
Or perhaps some alumni are interested in exploring the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship; they may
choose to be self-employed, potentially trading off pay for the convenience of flexible hours or the joy of being
one’s own boss.
One-half 49.8 of graduates report working for large firms. Small and medium firms are the second most
common employment source, followed, distantly, by self-employment, the public sector, and non-profit insti-
tutions. No significant differences between men and women appear in any of these sources. For purposes of
this study, the variable used to measure the effect of type of employer on level of earnings is whether or not the
ith recent graduate works in a large firm. This category is selected not only because it is the most numerous,
but also because it serves as a proxy for availability of advancement opportunities.
Type of job also is viewed as a determinant of earn- ings. Regardless of whether one is hired by a large firm,
a smallmedium firm, or the public sector, or is self- employed, managerial positions usually carry greater
responsibility and tend to pay more than others. Less than a third 29.2 of recent graduates work as man-
agers. More than half 56.2 classify their job as pro- fessional in nature, and 9.6 view themselves as tech-
nicians. The remaining 5.0 choose ‘other’, a category which probably embraces different shades of underem-
ployment. Only inter-gender differences in percentage of technical employment is statistically significant. Holding
a managerial position is the variable used to measure the impact of type of job on earnings.
Finally, the model contains a residence location vari- able that measures the effect of migration. Migration is
perceived by human-capital proponents as a purposeful
233 M.J. Carvajal et al. Economics of Education Review 19 2000 229–243
way in which a population responds to its perception of changing
economic opportunities
Carvajal Upadhiaya, 1986. If indeed people migrate because they
believe that, by doing so, they will improve their con- dition and that of their family, the earnings of recent
graduates who have moved out of the Miami Metropoli- tan Area should exceed, on average, the earnings of those
who have stayed. The data suggest that 90.0 of gradu- ates live in the Miami Metropolitan Area. This estimate,
however, is probably inflated; graduates who have moved away, especially to other states, are more difficult
to locate and, consequently, less likely to be present in the sample. There are no significant inter-gender
location differences.
4. Expectations of students
Kategori