Seminar: Laura Boisten (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Laura is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an applied micro- and labor economist. Her research primarily focuses on labor market entrance and re-entry, crime, and education.

Paper: Impact of College Major Skills on Lifetime Earnings and Occupational Sorting (Link)

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of skill alignment between college major skills and occupation skills. To measure skill alignment between skills acquired in college by major and skills demanded by occupations, we construct a novel skill alignment measures using Lightcast (formerly known as Burning Glass Technologies) data. We use this measure in combination with restricted-access U.S. Census Bureau data to show that skill mismatch converges to zero as individuals gain experience. Next, we examine how our skill alignment measure relates to wages over the early career, focusing on how disparities in the alignment of ten general skills can affect wage outcomes. This analysis suggests that the sorting process based on skill alignment may be more heavily influenced by certain skills than others. Through a segmented search model, we analyze how skill mismatch influences both the likelihood of job-to-job transitions and skill-alignment patterns of college graduates. Our results contribute to the ongoing debate on how to improve the alignment between higher education and labor market demands, suggesting that search frictions have a minimal role in causing skill misalignment between college educated workers and occupation, suggesting that the demand for certain skills may not be meet with the current supply of majors.