Premium
The Long‐run Labour Market Effects of Expanding Access to Higher Education in South Korea
Author(s) -
Jung Haeil,
Pirog Maureen A.,
Lee Sang Kyoo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3148
Subject(s) - mandate , earnings , context (archaeology) , higher education , demographic economics , economics , intervention (counseling) , developing country , labour economics , political science , economic growth , geography , finance , medicine , archaeology , psychiatry , law
A 1979 military coup in South Korea mandated that all colleges, public and private, expand their college admission quotas by 30 per cent in 1981 and 50 per cent in 1982. We use birth cohorts that were differentially exposed to this abrupt, exogenous policy change as an instrumental variable to identify the long‐term effects of college on labour market outcomes. We find that the college enrollment increase by the mandate led to higher monthly earnings and higher probabilities of ‘prestigious’ white‐collar employment. We discuss the historical context in which this intervention took place as well as its relevance for developing countries. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.