The Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market: An Experimental Study

David J. Deming, Noam Yuchtman, Amira Abulafi, Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz
2016 The American Economic Review  
We study employers' perceptions of the value of postsecondary degrees using a field experiment. We randomly assign the sector and selectivity of institutions to fictitious resumes and apply to real vacancy postings for business and health jobs on a large online job board. We find that a business bachelor's degree from a for-profit "online" institution is 22 percent less likely to receive a callback than one from a non-selective public institution. In applications to health jobs, we find that
more » ... -profit credentials receive fewer callbacks unless the job requires an external quality indicator such as an occupational license.
doi:10.1257/aer.20141757 fatcat:wxueyyhv45eb3c3d4fm2mulxry