Heterogeneity in the Effect of College Expansion Policy on Wages: Evidence from the Russian Labor Market

Number: 
1
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.1086/706484
Published: 
Authors:
Volha Belskaya,
Klara Sabirianova Peter,
Christian Manuel Posso-Suárez
Classification JEL: 
I21
Download document

The most recent

Minimum Markup Laws and Multiproduct Pricing
Daniel Herrera-Araujo, Jorge Florez-Acosta
Unpaid Care Work and Regional Gender Gaps in Labor Force Participation in Colombia
Luis Armando Galvis-Aponte, Adriana Marcela Rivera-Zárate
Assessing the Effects of Recent Provisioning Rules on Consumer Credit Allocation in Colombia
Diego Fernando Cuesta-Mora, Fredy Alejandro Gamboa-Estrada, Camilo Eduardo Sánchez-Quinto

This paper studies the effects of a landmark college expansion policy on wages in Russia. We construct a unique individual-level data set linking the supply of college campuses in an individual’s place of residence at age 17 with educational attainment and hourly wages in adulthood. Using parametric and semiparametric selection models, we demonstrate that the returns to college education in Russia are heterogeneous and depend on whether individuals live in areas with limited college availability. The cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that discounted net benefits of college education for students in constrained municipalities exceed those for students in large cities twofold.