Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/105822 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 1431
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
This paper studies the causal effects of graduating from university with an honors degree on subsequent earnings. While a rich body of literature has focused on estimating returns to human capital, few studies have analyzed returns at the very top of the education distribution. We highlight the importance of honors degrees for future labor market success in the context of German law graduates. Using a difference-in-differences research design combined with entropy balancing, we find that students of law who passed the state bar exam with an honors degree receive a significant earnings premium of about 14 percent. The results are robust to various sensitivity analyses.
Subjects: 
returns to education
difference-in-differences
entropy balancing
law graduates
earnings
JEL: 
J01
J31
J44
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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