Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
999714 Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 2008 16 Pages PDF
Abstract
I examine the relationship between university prestige and socioeconomic achievement in Japan. I generate a set of hypotheses based on human capital and screening models of education, and test these using a 1995 cross-sectional dataset. I find that university prestige significantly improves socioeconomic achievement among male university graduates in Japan. I also find that national university graduates have higher rates of return to their university education, and are more likely to be employed in higher prestige occupations than are private university graduates. My findings lend support to the 'elite' view of investments in human capital proposed by Becker (1993), under which higher ability individuals (in this case national university graduates) have more to gain from university education than do lower ability individuals. I find little support for the screening model of education.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Economics, Econometrics and Finance Economics, Econometrics and Finance (General)
Authors
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