The Varied Economic Returns to Postsecondary Education: New Evidence from the Class of 1972: Response to Comment

This response to Thomas Kane and Cecilia Rouse's comment on my earlier paper corrects some misinterpretations of our similar results from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1972. In particular, while earnings credits without a credentialfrom community colleges may increase earnings, it matters a great deal what kinds of credits these are; there is substantial evidence that returns to different types of community college degrees vary; and there appear to be sheepskin or program effects associated with completing credentials rather than accumulating credits, for women in the NLS72 data and for both men and women in other data sets. Therefore a blanket recommendation for students to enroll in community colleges for their economic benefits is unwarranted: the types of credits, types of credentials, and completion all matter a great deal.