Measuring educational attainment: The old and the new census and BLS taxonomies Academic Article

abstract

• After a half century in which education was measured by school years completed, the U.S. Census Bureau has revised the measure of educational attainment focusing more on degree recipiency and providing greater detail for the diversity of college degrees. At first blush the new taxonomy is a decided improvement on the old measure, but the statistical comparisons suggest that the improvement is marginal at best. The new taxonomy shifts detail to higher levels of education where the population is moving and where greater detail is therefore justified. We suspect the advantage of the new measure will increase over time, but there continues to be a need for specificity of areas of concentration. [JEL I20] 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

authors

• Ureta, Manuelita

published proceedings

• ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION REVIEW

author list (cited authors)

• Ureta, M., & Welch, F.

citation count

• 2

complete list of authors

• Ureta, M||Welch, F

publication date

• February 1998

publisher

• Elsevier  Publisher

published in

• Economics of Education Review  Journal

keywords

• 38 Economics
• 3801 Applied Economics

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1016/S0272-7757(97)00016-2

start page

• 15

end page

• 30

volume

• 17

issue

• 1

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0272-7757(97)00016-2