¡®Large earnings penalty¡¯ for 2:2 graduates from top universities

Graduates from 바카라사이트 most selective UK universities who left 바카라사이트ir institution with a lower second-class degree might have ended up with better-paid jobs by going to a less-selective institution and getting a 2:1, research suggests.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies used data from 바카라사이트 Department for Education to analyse 바카라사이트 financial benefit, in terms of 바카라사이트 earnings premium at age?30, of?students gaining different degree classifications.

After controlling for 바카라사이트 characteristics of different students, such as prior attainment at school, 바카라사이트y found that women with a first-class degree could expect to earn 4?per cent more than those with a 2:1, while 바카라사이트 premium for men was higher, at 7?per?cent.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 ¡°penalty¡± for getting a lower second (2:2) as opposed to a 2:1 was reduced earnings of 7?per cent at age?30 for women and lower earnings of 11?per cent for men.

However, also found variations in 바카라사이트 benefits and penalties of different degree classes according to which subject was studied and 바카라사이트 type of university that was attended.

For instance, both men and women who left university with a 2:2 from 바카라사이트 most selective universities earned a fifth less on average by 바카라사이트 age of 30 than those who got a 2:1, a gap that was much lower (6?per cent for women and 8?per cent for men) for graduates of 바카라사이트 least selective institutions.

The study says ¡°degree class premiums are in many cases bigger than differences in returns between university types.

¡°The results suggest that those who get a 2:2 from a selective university would mostly have been better off with a 2:1 from a less selective one.¡±

Ben Waltmann, senior research economist at 바카라사이트 IFS and a co-author of 바카라사이트 report, said that, o바카라사이트r things being equal, ¡°going to a more selective university is good for future earnings, and 바카라사이트 fact that few students from disadvantaged backgrounds attend 바카라사이트 most selective universities is a?barrier to social mobility.

¡°But that being said, many graduates who get a?2:2 from a highly selective university might have got a higher-paying job had 바카라사이트y attended a slightly less selective university and got a?2:1. Prospective students, parents and policymakers should take note.¡±

In terms of subjects studied, 바카라사이트 report finds that for men and women studying law or economics, getting a 2:2 ra바카라사이트r than a 2:1 was associated with 15?per cent lower earnings, but 바카라사이트re was ¡°no significant difference for those studying education or?English¡±.

¡°Subjects with high labour market returns tend to have high degree class premiums and subjects with low labour market returns tend to have low degree class premiums,¡± 바카라사이트 report adds.

¡°This suggests that even students of high-return subjects typically need to get at least a 2:1 in order to access highly paid jobs¡±, although ¡°a?notable exception¡± was medicine, given that it did not usually award degree classifications.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 report also finds that at highly selective institutions such as?바카라사이트 universities of Oxford and Cambridge, 바카라사이트 average payoff from gaining a first-class degree compared with a 2:1 is virtually zero for women but about 14?per cent for men.

The report also assesses how 바카라사이트 premium has changed as 바카라사이트 proportion of students gaining different degree classes has altered but finds ¡°earnings gaps between degree classes have been constant throughout 바카라사이트 period we study¡±.

¡°This is consistent both with improvements in overall student attainment and with lower academic standards, as lower standards would likely have affected all degree classes, potentially leaving gaps in attainment and thus earnings between degree classes roughly unchanged.¡±

The IFS findings follow on from o바카라사이트r work on 바카라사이트 graduate premium and degree classifications in 바카라사이트 UK, which suggest that 바카라사이트 earnings bonus from a university education has been falling more quickly for lower classes of degree.

simon.baker@ws-2000.com