TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jacob,Brian A.
TI  - Where the boys aren't: Non-cognitive skills, returns to school and the gender gap in higher education
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8964
PY  - 2002
Y2  - May 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8964
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8964.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Brian Jacob
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
University of Michigan
735 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Tel: 734-615-6994
Fax: NA
E-Mail: bajacob@umich.edu
AB  - Nearly 60 percent of college students today are women.  Using longitudinal data on a nationally representative cohort of eighth grade students in 1988, I examine two potential explanations for the differential attendance rates of men and women -- returns to schooling and non-cognitive skills. The attendance gap is roughly five percentage points for all high school graduates. Conditional on attendance, however, there are few differences in type of college, enrollment status or selectivity of institution. The majority of the attendance gap can be explained by differences in the characteristics of men and women, despite some gender differences in the determinants of college attendance.  I find that higher non-cognitive skills and college premiums among women account for nearly 90 percent of the gender gap in higher education.  Interestingly, non-cognitive factors continue to influence college enrollment after controlling for high school achievement.
ER  -