Does adult education at upper secondary level influence annual wage earnings?



Given registration in higher education, the fraction of AE participants with
more than two years at university, as reported in SUN2003, was 48 per cent
among males and 52 per cent among females. The corresponding figures of
those with no prior registration in AE were 57 and 56 per cent. The levels re-
ported in SUN2001 show larger differences, 55 per cent of the individuals
without AE had accomplished more than two years of studies but only 44 per
cent of those with AE. The discrepancy between the two years arises as many
individuals were still active at university.

For the analysis of annual wage earnings in 2002, individuals registered in
studies after 2000 are excluded as well as the ones with zero earnings in 2002.
The sample with a prior AE is then reduced by 32 per cent and by 19 per cent
in the group of non-participants.

Table 5 below presents frequencies of the restricted sample in various
educational categories together with average annual wage earnings in 2002.
The classification in years of higher studies is based on SUN2001 and gener-
ally follows the criteria that each individual has completed at least the number
of years stated. Exception to this rule is in the group with one year of studies,
which includes individuals with a four-year upper secondary technical educa-
tion as well as individuals with “more than one semester” of university studies.
This will come closest to making the categories reflect years of higher educa-
tion. Those with postgraduate studies are few and therefore include both licen-
tiate degrees (6 years of studies) and doctoral degrees (8 years of studies).
Counting the classifications as the actual years of higher studies, the mean
number is 2.62 for those without AE and 2.21 for AE individuals. Credits at-
tained in AE are negatively correlated (- .162) with the achieved higher
education. This is logical if one assumes schooling at a young age to be
correlated with ability. Less schooling at a young age warrants a higher amount
of credits in AE to gain eligibility for university studies (further descriptive
statistics are available from the author on request).

In Table 5, average annual wage earnings are in general higher for those
with no prior AE, but this pattern is irregular among females with two years or
more of higher studies. A natural explanation for the lower wage earnings
among AE-individuals is that they have postponed completing their education
compared with non-AE individuals. For example, the statistics on last registra-
tion in higher education reveal that by 1997, the fraction of AE individuals that
had completed their education was 55 per cent, whereas it was 75 per cent
among non-AE individuals.

IFAU - Does adult education at upper secondary level influence annual wage earnings?

21




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