An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market

Last registered on May 03, 2017
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000262
Initial registration date
March 30, 2014

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 30, 2014, 10:02 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
May 03, 2017, 10:56 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
David Deming
Affiliation
Harvard University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Claudia Goldin
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
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PI Name
Lawrence Katz
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
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PI Name
Noam Yuchtman
PI Affiliation
University of California-Berkeley
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2014-04-01
End date
2014-12-31
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
I23, I26, J24, J44, J63, M51
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We study employers’ perceptions of the value of postsecondary degrees using a field experiment. We randomly assign the sector and selectivity of institutions to fictitious resumes and apply to real vacancy postings for business and health jobs on a large online job board. We find that a business bachelor’s degree from a for-profit “online” institution is 22 percent less likely to receive a callback than one from a non-selective public institution. In applications to health jobs, we find that for-profit credentials receive fewer callbacks unless the job requires an external quality indicator such as an occupational license.
External Link(s)
link to published article

Registration Citation

Citation
Deming, David et al. 2017. "An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market." AEA RCT Registry. May 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.262-4.0
Former Citation
Deming, David et al. 2017. "An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market." AEA RCT Registry. May 03. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/262/history/17231
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Despite growing demand, the supply of highly skilled college graduates in the U.S. has not kept pace. In contrast to sluggish growth in the public sector, enrollment in for-profit institutions has grown rapidly over the last fifteen years. Yet little is known about the labor market return to a for-profit education. Do employers value credentials from some institutions more than others? We address these questions using a large-scale resume audit field experiment. We construct fictitious resumes, randomly vary the institution from which the job applicant received a degree or certificate, and apply to job vacancies that are posted on a large, national job search website. While our primary research question concerns employers’ valuations of a for-profit versus public credential, we also test the impact of having any credential for job vacancies that do not require it. Additionally, our planned sample size allows us to examine heterogeneity by occupation, degree, and labor market. In this pre-analysis plan, we describe the structure of the experiment, and we present early results from a pilot version of our study. The full version of the study went into the field on Monday, March 31st and will conclude by the end of November 2014.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2014-04-01
Intervention End Date
2014-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Whether an employer calls or emails in response to a submitted resume.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
See the paper and pre-analysis plan for details.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
This field will remain hidden until the trial is complete.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2,621 job vacancies.
Sample size: planned number of observations
10,484 resumes.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2,621 in each of 4 treatment arms.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Our power calculations suggest that we will be able to detect a 1 percentage point difference at a significance level of 5 percent and at 80 percent power for the overall treatment, and 1.5 percentage points for key subgroups.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard Committee on the Use of Human Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2013-10-18
IRB Approval Number
IRB13-1856
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Deming_FPAudit.pdf

MD5: 0f6506d9f6eff9ecedc17c0bd63aab7c

SHA1: 27bbe62aeff0f2b4bffc3ede4c30676db7d66b4b

Uploaded At: March 30, 2014

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
December 31, 2014, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
November 30, 2014, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
2,621 jobs
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
10,484 resumes
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
Yes
Public Data URL
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20141757

Program Files

Program Files
Yes
Program Files URL
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20141757
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract
e study employers' perceptions of the value of postsecondary degrees using a field experiment. We randomly assign the sector and selectivity of institutions to fictitious resumes and apply to real vacancy postings for business and health jobs on a large online job board. We find that a business bachelor's degree from a for-profit online institution is 22 percent less likely to receive a callback than one from a nonselective public institution. In applications to health jobs, we find that for-profit credentials receive fewer callbacks unless the job requires an external quality indicator such as an occupational license
Citation
Deming, David J., Noam Yuchtman, Amira Abulafi, Claudia Goldin, and Lawrence F. Katz. 2016. "The Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market: An Experimental Study." American Economic Review, 106(3): 778-806.
URL
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20141757

Reports & Other Materials