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Stairway to heaven? The economic consequences of setting foot in college in Colombia.

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Title: Stairway to heaven? The economic consequences of setting foot in college in Colombia.
Authors: Herrera-Prada, Luis Omar1,2 (AUTHOR) l.herreraprada@stud.uni-goettingen.de, Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada1,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Education Economics. Feb2026, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p29-60. 32p.
Subject Terms: *College attendance, *Higher education, *Academic achievement, Wage increases, Economic impact, Income inequality, Gender wage gap
Geographic Terms: Colombia
Abstract: This study investigates the economic consequences of college attendance on wages, focusing on the wage increases associated with obtaining a degree, highlighting the Sheepskin Effect in a country characterized by high informality and youth unemployment as Colombia. Using administrative data for secondary school graduates (2002–2012) and a differences-in-differences framework, we estimate a 50.6% wage increase for college graduates and 68.1% premium over dropouts completing 90%-of-coursework. These findings suggest that college graduation is associated with reduced income inequality and a narrower gender wage gap, providing insights for policymakers on the benefits of promoting higher education to improve labor market outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Education Economics is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 191012009
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Stairway to heaven? The economic consequences of setting foot in college in Colombia.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Herrera-Prada%2C+Luis+Omar%22">Herrera-Prada, Luis Omar</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> l.herreraprada@stud.uni-goettingen.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Martínez-Zarzoso%2C+Inmaculada%22">Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Education+Economics%22">Education Economics</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p29-60. 32p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+attendance%22">College attendance</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wage+increases%22">Wage increases</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Economic+impact%22">Economic impact</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Income+inequality%22">Income inequality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+wage+gap%22">Gender wage gap</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Colombia%22">Colombia</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This study investigates the economic consequences of college attendance on wages, focusing on the wage increases associated with obtaining a degree, highlighting the Sheepskin Effect in a country characterized by high informality and youth unemployment as Colombia. Using administrative data for secondary school graduates (2002–2012) and a differences-in-differences framework, we estimate a 50.6% wage increase for college graduates and 68.1% premium over dropouts completing 90%-of-coursework. These findings suggest that college graduation is associated with reduced income inequality and a narrower gender wage gap, providing insights for policymakers on the benefits of promoting higher education to improve labor market outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Education Economics is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=191012009
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/09645292.2025.2452194
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 32
        StartPage: 29
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      – SubjectFull: College attendance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Higher education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic achievement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wage increases
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      – SubjectFull: Economic impact
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Income inequality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender wage gap
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      – SubjectFull: Colombia
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      – TitleFull: Stairway to heaven? The economic consequences of setting foot in college in Colombia.
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            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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