Working Paper: NBER ID: w8964
Authors: Brian A. Jacob
Abstract: Nearly 60 percent of college students today are women. Using longitudinal data on a nationally representative cohort of eighth grade students in 1988, I examine two potential explanations for the differential attendance rates of men and women -- returns to schooling and non-cognitive skills. The attendance gap is roughly five percentage points for all high school graduates. Conditional on attendance, however, there are few differences in type of college, enrollment status or selectivity of institution. The majority of the attendance gap can be explained by differences in the characteristics of men and women, despite some gender differences in the determinants of college attendance. I find that higher non-cognitive skills and college premiums among women account for nearly 90 percent of the gender gap in higher education. Interestingly, non-cognitive factors continue to influence college enrollment after controlling for high school achievement.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I20; J16; J18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Higher noncognitive skills among women (D29) | Higher probability of attending college (D29) |
| Higher noncognitive skills (D29) | College attendance gap (I23) |
| Noncognitive factors (D91) | College enrollment (I23) |