Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP4760
Authors: Daniel Mnich; Jan Svejnar; Katherine Terrell
Abstract: Using micro data on women in the Czech Republic, we compare returns to various measures of human capital at the end of communism (1989), in mid-transition (1996) and in late/post-transition (2002). We show: dramatic increases in returns to education from 1989 to 1996 but no change from 1996 to 2002; no differences in returns to education by state vs. privately-owned firms; ‘sheepskin’ effects in both regimes, which rise over time and are similar across firm ownership; no difference in returns to education obtained during communism vs. transition; no change in wage-experience profiles over time; and similar increases in returns to education for women and men. In sum, markets pay women and men equally more for their human capital than the planners did; all the adjustment occurred in early transition and was driven by market forces rather than private ownership.
Keywords: Czech Republic; Human Capital; Sheepskin Effects; Transition; Wages
JEL Codes: J24; J31; P20; P31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Market conditions (D49) | Returns to education for women (I26) |
| Transition from communism (P39) | Returns to education (I26) |
| Market conditions (D49) | Returns to education (I26) |
| Firm ownership type (L20) | Returns to education (I26) |
| Type of education obtained (I21) | Returns to education (I26) |
| Receiving a degree (Y40) | Wages (J31) |
| Gender (J16) | Changes in returns to education (I26) |