An Investment of a Lifetime? The Long-term Labour Market Premiums Associated with a Postsecondary Education

This paper examines the long-term labour market premiums associated with completing a college certificate and a bachelor's degree, compared to completing a high school diploma. Several labour market outcomes of individuals are examined with longitudinal data over a 20-year period spanning their mid-30s to their mid-50s. With the creation of a new linked file consisting of the 1991 Census of Population and the Longitudinal Worker File (LWF), it is now possible to follow individuals in the labour market for a longer period of time than is feasible with existing survey data. The purpose of this study is to compare labour market outcomes of individuals with different levels of educational attainment over a 20-year period spanning their mid-30s to their mid-50s. Three levels of education are considered, corresponding to the decisions made by students following high school graduation: a high school diploma, a college certificate, and a bachelor's degree. Longitudinal data are used to track total earnings (wages and salaries plus net self-employment income), coverage in an employer-sponsored pension plan, employment, union membership, and permanent and temporary layoffs over the period 1991 to 2010.