Grads on the go

Measuring college‐specific labor markets for graduates

Bibliographic Data

ID6437588
AuthorsJohnathan G Conzelmann (0000-0001-9028-7014, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA), Steven W Hemelt (0000-0001-6756-1871, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA, corresponding author), Brad Hershbein (0000-0002-2534-8164, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Kalamazoo, Michigan USA), Shawn Martins (0000-0002-2745-3048), Shawn Martin (0000-0002-9128-5528, Cornerstone Research New York, New York USA), Andrew Simon (0000-0001-9333-885X, University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA), Kevin Stange (0000-0003-3617-4873, University of Michigan), Kevin M Stange (University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan USA)
Year2023
Volume44
Issue3
Pages741-763
Publication date2023-12-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Policy Analysis and Management (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0276-8739 • E-ISSN: 1520-6688
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/pam.22553
OpenAlexW4389683831
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited32

This paper introduces a new measure of the labor markets served by colleges and universities across the United States. About 50% of recent college graduates are living and working in the metro area nearest the institution they attended, with this figure climbing to 67% in‐state. The geographic dispersion of alumni is more than twice as great for highly selective 4‐year institutions as for 2‐year institutions. However, more than one quarter of 2‐year institutions disperse alumni more diversely than the average public 4‐year institution. In one application of these data, we find that the average strength of the labor market to which a college sends its graduates predicts college‐specific intergenerational economic mobility. In a second application, we quantify the extent of “brain drain” across areas and illustrate the importance of considering migration patterns of college graduates when estimating the social return on public investment in higher education

Business · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Higher education · Institution · Investment (military · Labour economics · Political science · Public institution · Quarter (Canadian coin · Social mobility · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Law · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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