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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