Dennis Alexis Valin Dittrich<p>Assessing the Value of Incomplete University Degrees: Experimental Evidence from HR Recruiters <a href="https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17693&amp;r=&amp;r=lma" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izad</span><span class="invisible">ps:dp17693&amp;r=&amp;r=lma</span></a><br>"… studying unsuccessfully for a degree directly related to a job can still yield positive returns in terms of <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/wages" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>wages</span></a> compared to activities not focused on formal <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/humanCapital" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>humanCapital</span></a> accumulation, such as working and traveling. However, back of the envelope calculations show that these increases just cover the direct and opportunity costs of studying.<br>… HR recruiters view years of unsuccessful study without a direct link to a job as “lost” years, offering substantially lower wages to such applicants compared to people who have a university entrance diploma but have never studied.<br>… recruiters highly value alternative forms of human capital acquisition, and may largely prefer it to unsuccessful university studies. In the scenario we used, HR recruiters showed a strong preference for people without a degree who had completed a company-based <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/traineeship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>traineeship</span></a>. <br>In sum, these results suggest that a failed degree is rarely a worthwhile investment—at least in the eyes of HR recruiters."<br><a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/LaborMarkets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LaborMarkets</span></a> <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/apprenticeships" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>apprenticeships</span></a> <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/universityDegrees" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>universityDegrees</span></a></p>