Positional advantages and occupational specificity. Returns for higher education in West Germany.

Autor/in	Löwe, Laura
Titel	Positional advantages and occupational specificity. Returns for higher education in West Germany.
Quelle	In: European Journal of Higher Education, 15 (2025) 4, S. 619-638Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2156-8235; 2156-8243
DOI	10.1080/21568235.2024.2429079
Schlagwörter	Studiendauer; Studienerfolg; Studienverhalten; Akademiker; Bedarf; Studentenschaft
Abstract	This study analyses how changing positional advantages affected occupational returns for higher education in West Germany from 1974 to 2018. Positional advantages measure the advantages of educational levels relative to others during educational expansion. The impact of positional advantages on occupational returns plausibly differs regarding both the type of higher education degree and its level of occupational specificity. Using the German Microcensus and with the help of median regression models, the study tests if the socioeconomic status of Bachelor's and Master's graduates whose degrees have different levels of occupational specificity are systematically affected by the percentage of individuals with at least the same qualification at a given point in time. The empirical results reveal that higher education graduates benefit from educational expansion: positional advantages therefore affect occupational returns for different higher education degrees in divergent ways. Graduates with occupation-specific Master's degrees appear to benefit most from educational expansion. Graduates with Bachelor's degrees and less occupationally specific degrees benefit less from educational expansion. The empirical results suggest increasing positional competition within higher education. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Erfasst von	Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, Bonn
Update	2026/3