Estimation of Sheepskin Effects and Returns to Schooling Using he Old and the New CPS Measures of Educational Attainment

Abstract

This study uses direct information on years of schooling and degree attainment taken from a special Current Population Survey (CPS) to test for sheepskin effects. I find significant earnings gains of approximately 9, 11, and 21 percent for achieving a high school diploma, an associate’s degree, and a bachelor’s degree, respectively. I also use the data to impute a traditional measure of years of schooling (corresponding to the education information on the CPS prior to 1992) from the new CPS question on degrees. The imputation is found to be relatively accurate and to lead to similar estimates of the return to schooling.