Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 02050005
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED176694 AUTHOR: Spaeth, Joe L.
TITLE: The Determination of Earnings Among College
Graduates.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1979
NOTE: 85 p.; The appendix, Questionnaire Items for Analysis
of Earnings, may not reproduce well due to marginal
legibility of original
ABSTRACT: Differences in levels and determinants of
earnings
for men and women college graduates are examined.
Perspectives from human capital theory, research on the
socioeconomic achievement process, and research on
segmented
labor markets are used to design models of the
determination
of earnings. Data are taken from the National Opinion
Research Center longitudinal survey of college graduates
for
1961. Earnings measured in 1962, 1964, and 1968 demonstrate
a growth in the earnings gap between men and women over
time, with greater earnings for men. A gap of $1,900 in
1964
is attributed to men's greater returns from hours worked,
by
their likelihood of working for profit-making employers, by
the concentration in high-paying occupations, and by their
higher 1962 earnings. It is suggested that in 1968 men made
more money than women because their 1964 earnings were
greater, they were more likely to hold doctorate degrees,
they were more likely to work in high-paying professions
and
management, and placed higher value on "making money." The
recent rise of the women's movement and the development of
affirmative action programs are discussed as having an
influence on women's career decisions. Women's entry into
traditionally male professions is also noted. It is
suggested that the greater supply of full-time women
workers
today may actually cause the earnings gap to remain rather
large. The questionnaire items for analysis of earnings is
appended. (Author/SF)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Affirmative-Action; Career-Choice;
Comparative-Analysis; Degrees-Academic; Equal-Opportunities
Jobs; Females-; Feminism-; Higher-Education; Longitudinal
Studies; Males-; Models-; Questionnaires-; Salaries-;
Wages-
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *College-Graduates; *Employed-Women;
*Employment-; *Labor-Market; *Salary-Wage-Differentials;
*Sex-Discrimination
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