Evolution of Private Returns to Tertiary Education During Transition: Evidence from Slovenia

34 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2013

See all articles by Tjaša Bartolj

Tjaša Bartolj

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics. Institute for Economic Research

Ales Ahcan

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics

Aljosa Feldin

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics

Saao Polanec

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 26, 2012

Abstract

This paper analyzes the evolution of private returns to tertiary education during the period of transition from a socialist to a market economy using the personal income tax data of all Slovenian workers employed between 1994 and 2008. We document a rich interplay between supply and demand in the labor markets of high school and university graduates. We show that, in spite of significant increases in the labor supply, the demand for university graduates dominated and increased the rates of return in the early period of transition (1994-2001), while in the later period (2001-2008) the opposite was the case. We also provide evidence on considerable heterogeneity in the rates of return between genders, levels, and fields of study, with particularly large (low) returns to the fields that were suppressed (favored) during socialism. These initial differences in returns have, however, gradually declined.

Keywords: Returns to Education, Tertiary Education, Fields of Study, Mincerian Regressions

JEL Classification: J24

Suggested Citation

Bartolj, Tjaša and Ahcan, Ales and Feldin, Aljosa and Polanec, Saso, Evolution of Private Returns to Tertiary Education During Transition: Evidence from Slovenia (June 26, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2278792 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2278792

Tjaša Bartolj (Contact Author)

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics. Institute for Economic Research ( email )

Kardeljeva ploscad 17
Ljubljana, 1000
Slovenia

Ales Ahcan

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Kardeljeva ploscad 17
Ljubljana, 1000
Slovenia

Aljosa Feldin

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Kardeljeva ploščad 17
Ljubljana, 1000
Slovenia

Saso Polanec

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Kardeljeva ploscad 17
Ljubljana, 1000
Slovenia

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