Data and Code for: College Attainment, Income Inequality, and Economic Security: A Simulation Exercise

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Melissa S. Kearney, University of Maryland; Brad Hershbein, Upjohn Institute ; Luke Pardue, University of Maryland

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
replication-new			07/20/2020 04:30:PM
README.txt	text/plain	2.2 KB	07/20/2020 12:25:PM

Project Citation:

Kearney, Melissa S., Hershbein, Brad, and Pardue, Luke. Data and Code for: College Attainment, Income Inequality, and Economic Security: A Simulation Exercise. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2020. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020-09-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/E120347V1

Project Description

Summary: We conduct an empirical simulation exercise that gauges the plausible impact of increased rates of college attainment on a variety of measures of income inequality and economic insecurity. Using two different methodological approaches—a distributional approach and a causal parameter approach—we find that increased rates of bachelor’s and associate degree attainment would meaningfully increase economic security for lower-income individuals, reduce poverty and near-poverty, and shrink gaps between the 90th and lower percentiles of the earnings distribution. However, increases in college attainment would not significantly reduce inequality at the very top of the distribution.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Education; Inequality; Wages; Employment

JEL Classification:
      I24 Education and Inequality
      I26 Returns to Education
      I30 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: General
      I31 General Welfare; Well-Being
      J21 Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
      J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

Geographic Coverage: United States

Time Period(s): 1979 – 2019

Methodology

Data Source: Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement (March Supplement), Survey Years 1980-2019.

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2020-09-14]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.