One would also expect the average wage earnings to correlate positively with
the number of years of schooling, but this is not entirely the case. The group
with postgraduate studies plausibly consists of individuals that are still Ph.D.
students. More unexpected is that, among females, the groups with one year of
university studies show higher annual wage earnings than the corresponding
groups with two years, both with and without AE. There is also a rather weak
development for those with three years of higher studies. Characteristics such
as labour market attachment and indicators of family situation may of course
explain part of the pattern. These are taken into account in the empirical sec-
tion. However, the differences may also reflect different career choices and it is
in this respect interesting to compare the study directions of the female group
with those of males who do not show this counterintuitive pattern.
Table 5 Average annual wage earnings (thousands of SEK) in 2002 across
years in higher education as reported in SUN2001. Number of observations
within parentheses.
Years in higher education
Males Females
No AE AE No AE AE
|
Totalt |
343.7 |
(8161) |
288.3 |
(2933) |
198.0 |
(7789) |
184.4 |
(4595) |
|
> 1 year |
302.4 |
(.094) |
249.0 |
(.156) |
177.6 |
(.076) |
157.2 |
(.141) |
|
1 year |
315.1 |
(.168) |
277.7 |
(.178) |
210.4 |
(.097) |
175.0 |
(.107) |
|
2 year |
322.2 |
(.165) |
286.7 |
(.159) |
162.6 |
(.254) |
163.7 |
(.202) |
|
3 year |
341.0 |
(.238) |
282.3 |
(.307) |
197.7 |
(.338) |
185.4 |
(.402) |
|
4 year |
384.1 |
(.284) |
336.2 |
(.171) |
234.2 |
(.194) |
241.1 |
(.129) |
|
5 year |
405.2 |
(.020) |
365.6 |
(.020) |
255.1 |
(.025) |
262.6 |
(.016) |
|
≥ 6 year |
348.8 |
(.031) |
336.2 |
(.007) |
257.7 |
(.016) |
208.9 |
(.003) |
Note: The sample includes individuals with positive wage earnings in 2002, registered for the
first time in higher education before 1998 and for the last time not later than 2000. Further, ob-
servations are excluded if a missing value is reported for education attained in 2001, for grade
point averages from upper secondary school or whether the individual is foreign born persons.
A high fraction of the females with two years of higher studies have educations
typically suited for the public sector; such as teachers at preschool level and
recreational activities (40 per cent) and trained nurses (20 per cent). The public
22
IFAU - Does adult education at upper secondary level influence annual wage earnings?