Income prospects of British Columbia university
graduates
by Andrew Heisz
Business and Labour Market Analysis Division
Analytical
Studies Branch research paper series, No. 170
Using a new dataset which
combines the 1982-1997 tax records and administrative records of British Columbia
bachelors graduates from the classes of 1974-1996, I examine the real market income
of graduates, focussing on changes in income between graduating cohorts, as well
as differences across major fields of study.
For men and women BC graduates,
there has been a decline in real annual income received after graduation for more
recent cohorts which is eventually offset by a higher growth rate in income. Also,
annual incomes after graduation are relatively high for graduates with applied
degrees such as in the engineering, education, and health fields, however, the
range of incomes narrows as graduate cohorts age. The former finding is at odds
with those of Beaudry and Green (1997) who found that weekly earnings declined
across cohorts for male university graduates, with no offsetting rise in the growth
rate (their results were more similar for women). Differences may be due to this
paper's use of annual income as an outcome measure, or its focus on BC student's
outcomes rather than national outcomes.
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