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The Contribution of Associate's Degree Holders to U.S. Earnings, Labor Quality, Productivity, and Overall Economic Growth
Author(s) -
Gittell Ross,
Samuels Jon D.,
Tebaldi Edinaldo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
southern economic journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 2325-8012
pISSN - 0038-4038
DOI - 10.1002/soej.12237
Subject(s) - productivity , earnings , labour economics , economics , workforce , earnings growth , quality (philosophy) , government (linguistics) , economic growth , philosophy , linguistics , accounting , epistemology
There is substantial evidence on the importance of education as a driver of earnings, productivity, and economic growth. However, knowledge of the specific role of associate's degrees in U.S. economic growth is limited. We analyze the sources of U.S. economic growth and identify the contribution of associate's degree holders to improvements in earnings, labor quality, productivity, and overall economic growth. We find evidence that substitution toward workers with associate's degrees has increased U.S. earnings, aggregate labor quality, and productivity, and that these effects are concentrated in the health care, trade, and government sectors. While the average educational attainment of people entering the labor force has plateaued, our results suggest that shifting workers from some college to associate degrees could improve earnings, the quality of the workforce, productivity, and growth, potentially without more time spent in school.