Which Fields Pay, Which Fields Don't? An Examination of The Returns To University Education in Canada by Detailed Field of Study

Which Fields Pay, Which Fields Don’t?
An Examination of the Returns to University Education in

Canada by Detailed Field of Study
Alan Stark 1
Economic Studies and Policy Analysis Division
Department of Finance, Canada
February 2007
1
The views expressed in this paper are my own and should not be attributed to the Department of Finance.
1
Abstract
The decision to attend university has a significant impact on an individual’s lifetime

earnings, as does his choice of field of study and whether or not to pursue graduate
studies. This paper uses data from the 1996 Canadian Census to compute estimates of the
private rate of return associated with these choices. Use of data from the full (20 per cent)
sample allows for estimates to be computed by detailed field of study.
We find that the heterogeneity in rates of return across major fields of study documented
in previous research is found to persist within more narrowly defined fields of study. We
find rates of return to bachelor’s degrees to be positive for all detailed fields of study;
thus, they represent a sound investment. The same holds true for the vast majority of
individuals pursuing graduate degrees. Additionally, use of 2002-03 tuition fee data
indicates that recent increases in tuition fees has a noticeable, but not overwhelming,
impact on rates of return; no field that was profitable under the 1995-96 cost structure is
rendered unprofitable despite substantial increases in costs.
2
1. Introduction
The decision to attend university has a significant impact on an individual’s lifetime

earnings, as does his choice of field of study and whether or not to pursue graduate
studies. These choices are the focus of this paper. It should be noted that it is not the
intent of this paper to model the educational choices of individuals per se, but rather to
examine the returns associated with these choices. 2 Specifically, we use data from the
1996 Census to compute estimates of the private rate of return accruing to university
graduates in Canada with different levels of university education. In doing so we consider
both the direct costs (tuition fees and non-fee costs) and indirect costs (foregone
earnings) of pursuing university, as well as the impacts of income taxes. Use of data from
the 20 per cent sample of the Canadian Census allows for estimates to be computed by
detailed field of study. 3
We wish to make it clear from the outset that we fully recognize that pecuniary rewards
are not the only factors influencing a person’s educational choice; they may not even be
the primary factor. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to believe that individuals are concerned
with the financial returns to education. Perhaps not so much that they choose the
education path that will yield them the highest return, but at least to verify that a given
choice will satisfy some idiosyncratic threshold. This is expected to be particularly true of
persons deciding whether or not to pursue graduate work.
The rest of this paper will proceed as follows. Section 2 presents a brief discussion of the
literature. Section 3 describes the methodology employed in the analysis and Section 4
describes the data. Construction of earnings profiles is discussed in Section 5. Section 6
presents results and Section 7 examines the sensitivity of these returns to increases in
tuition fees. Conclusions and future work are presented in Section 8.
2. Literature Review
When discussing returns to education, one must be careful regarding terminology. What
exactly is meant by ‘returns to education’? An individual considering investing in
2
Boudarbat and Lemieux (2003) provides an example of a study that models field of study as an
endogenous choice.
3
Each time the Canadian census is conducted, 80 per cent of respondents complete the short-form which
asks only for demographic information. However, 20 per cent of respondents complete the long-form,
which collects additional data including information pertaining to earnings and educational attainment. The
Census public use file, representing approximately 3 per cent of respondents, presents educational
attainment only by major field of study, whereas the 20 per cent sample presents field of study by the more
narrowly defined detailed field of study.
3
education is primarily concerned with how they themselves will be directly affected by
the investment. Thus, the measure of greatest interest to them is likely to be the private
rate of return, which considers only the benefits and costs that accrue solely to the
individual.
Alternatively, returns to education may be examined within a broader context, namely,
from the viewpoint of society as a whole. In this case, it is more appropriate to examine
the total rate of return (sometimes referred as the public return), which considers all the
direct costs and benefits accruing to society, both private and public.
A related concept is the social rate of return to education, which like the total return,
considers all the direct benefits and costs associated with investments in education, but
also considers any externalities resulting from the production of education such as
reduced crime, improved health and longevity, and human capital-driven endogenous
growth. If schooling is a productive investment rather than a signalling or screening
device, then in the absence of externalities the total rate of return coincides with the
social rate of return. However, if higher investment in human capital produces positive
externalities, then the social rate of return will exceed the total rate of return.
There are a number of studies that estimate private and total rates of return to post-
secondary education in Canada. 4 There are fewer studies that estimate social returns to
education [see Moretti (2004) and Davis (2003) for examples]. 5
This paper most closely resembles four other studies: Vaillancourt (VA) (1995), Stager
(ST) (1996), Rathje and Emery (RE) (2002) and Vaillancourt and Bourdeau-Primeau
(VBP) (2002). Each of these studies uses census data to estimate private and total rates of
return to university education in Canada. 6 They also examine similar time frames:
together VA and VBP examine data from the 1986, 1991 and 1996 censuses, as does RE.
ST confines his attention to the 1991 census. Accordingly, these papers shall be our
primary points of reference. However, there are important differences between these
studies and our own which shall be discussed in more detail later.
This being said, the results from these studies indicate that rates of return can vary
substantially across the broadly defined major field of study, for example, between a
bachelor’s degree in one of the social sciences and a bachelor’s degree in an engineering
field. But does this heterogeneity across major fields of study also exist within fields?
How does the return to a degree in economics compare to the return to a degree in
sociology? A primary goal of this paper is to examine private rates of return by the more
4
Vaillancourt (1995) and Vaillancourt and Bourdeau-Primeau (2002) provide detailed summaries of the
studies in this area. More recent studies include, but are not restricted to Appleby et. al. (2002). In related
studies, Finnie (2002a, 2002b) examines early labour market outcomes of university graduates.
5
Readers of studies on returns to education must be careful when faced with the term ‘social return’ as this
term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term ‘total return’.
6
Vaillancourt (1995) also estimates the return to a college diploma.
4
narrowly defined detailed field of study and determine if such heterogeneity persists at
that level. A secondary goal is to document recent increases in university tuition fees and
determine their impact on estimates of rates of return.
3. Methodology
3.1 Computation of Rates of Return
There are three main methods of estimating rates of return to investments in education.
The first, developed by Mincer (1974), involves econometrically estimating an earnings
function where log earnings is regressed on years of study and age/experience in the
labour market. Under this specification, the estimated coefficient on the years of study
variable represents the rate of return to an additional year of education. More general
specifications include dummy variables that distinguish between years of education or the
last level of education obtained.
A second approach involves computing the ratio of discounted net benefits to total costs.
This method does not measure the internal rate of return to education as it depends on an
assumed value of the discount rate used in the calculations.
A third method, one that will be employed in this study, involves the calculation of the
internal rate of return associated with an investment in education in much the same way
as one would compute the profitability of a financial asset. Specifically, this method
computes the rate of return as the internal rate of return that equates the net lifetime
discounted benefit from pursuing the educational investment with zero. This is
represented in equation (1) where A and B represent the earnings streams with and
without the investment, respectively.
N ( Ai − Bi − Ci )
0=∑ (1)
i =1 (1 + r ) i
C represents the private costs associated with the investment (tuition fees and non-fee
costs). 7 N represents the number of years between when the educational investment
begins and a person retires. 8 Thus, the rate of return, r, represents the ex-ante rate of
7
Living and accommodation costs are not considered in the analysis since these are incurred by students
and non-students alike. Such costs should be included only to the extent that they differ from comparable
costs incurred in an alternative activity. It is assumed that these costs are identical for both students and
non-students.
8
All persons are assumed to retire after age 64.
5
return associated with the investment evaluated immediately before the educational
investment is undertaken. 9
Within this framework, it is assumed that all benefits derived from employment can be
measured solely by earnings; all fringe benefits are excluded.
3.2 Computation of After-tax Earnings
Calculation of private rates of return necessitate that we compute after-tax earnings. This
is done using a simplified version of the tax system. Specifically, I compute taxes for a
representative individual without children who resides in Ontario. We consider the
federal income tax schedule, EI and CPP contributions, the federal surtax and the GST
credit. From the Ontario tax system we consider basic tax, the high-income surtax and the
low income tax reduction. Note that unlike VBP, we do not include any deductions for
RRSP contributions. Thus, after-tax earnings may be underestimated relative to their
estimates.
3.3 Additional Assumptions
Carrying out this exercise requires that a number of additional assumptions be made
concerning the timing of education programs, alternative earnings and foregone earnings.
These are discussed in turn.
3.1.1 Timing of Schooling
As a first step in this exercise, we must make assumptions concerning the duration of
different university programs and the ages of individuals when they undertake these
programs. These are presented in Table 1. 10 It is assumed that individuals graduate from
high school at age 18. A bachelor’s program takes four years of study to complete and
commences in the year following completion of high school. A law degree requires three
additional years of study after the completion of a bachelor’s degree. 11 A degree in
medicine, dentistry, veterinary or optometry requires four years of study and is pursued
9
This methodology differs slightly from that used in VA and VBP which considers all costs to be up-front
costs and discounts differences in earnings back to the point where schooling is completed.
10
The durations of programs as listed in Table 1 are typical, but there are exceptions.
11
Although law programs do not require the completion of an undergraduate degree as a prerequisite, it is
common for individuals starting law school to possess a bachelor’s degree.
6
after the completion of a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree takes two additional years
of study following the completion of a bachelor’s degree and completion of a Ph.D.
degree takes an additional four years after completion of a master’s degree. 12
Table 1: Ages of Students while Attending University

Program Age while Attending Duration
Bachelor’s degree 19-22 4 years
Law degree 23-25 3 years
Degree in Medicine, Dentistry, 23-26 4 years

Veterinary or Optometry
Master’s degree 23-24 2 years
Ph.D. degree 25-28 4 years
3.1.2 Alternative Earnings
For each level of university education the alternative earnings stream (i.e. without the
investment in additional education) is estimated as the earnings of a person who had the
credentials necessary to pursue the investment, but did not do so. Thus, the alternative
earnings stream for a person with a bachelor’s degree is the earnings series for a high
school graduate who did not pursue further schooling. Similarly, the alternative earnings
series for someone with a master’s degree is the earnings series of someone whose
highest degree was a bachelor’s degree and the alternative earnings for someone with a
Ph.D. degree is the earnings series of someone whose highest degree was a master’s
degree.
This procedure allows for the determination of the incremental return to a given degree
relative to the next lowest level of education. For example, the return to pursuing a
master’s degree relative to entering the workforce after attaining a bachelor’s degree. The
alternative earnings series for degrees in law and the medical fields are treated slightly
differently. The decision of a person to pursue a degree in these fields is assumed to take
place when he first enters university, rather than after completion of his bachelor’s
degree. Thus, the appropriate comparison is between someone who chose to attain a
12
Four years is most likely an underestimate of the time required to complete a Ph.D. program. After our
computational work was completed, we learned of Gluszynski and Peters (2005) which reports that among
a sample of graduates from Canadian Ph.D. programs in 2003-2004 the average time to completion was 5
years and 10 months.
7
bachelor’s degree followed by a law degree versus someone who entered the workforce
immediately following high school. Accordingly, the alternative earnings stream is that
of a person whose formal education ceased after completing high school and the rate of
return is the return relative to someone who pursued no further schooling after graduating
high school. 13
Furthermore, when estimating the rate of return for a person with a master’s or Ph.D.
degree we must consider not only the field of study for the degree being pursued, but also
the field of study associated with the alternative earnings stream. For the purposes of this
study it is assumed that a person pursuing a graduate degree has a previous degree in the
same field. Thus, when computing the return to a M.A. in economics, the alternative
earnings stream is for a person with a B.A. in economics.
As stated, the alternative earnings path is proxied by the earnings path of those people
who did not continue their education to the next level. However, it is possible that
individuals who chose to pursue additional education are systematically different from
individuals who did not. Therefore, there may be a sample selection issue. For example,
one could argue that persons pursing additional education are of a higher ability and thus,
could be expected to earn more than the less able group even without additional
education. Some authors have adjusted estimated earnings streams to reflect differences
in ability, but in this study we make no such adjustments.
3.1.3 Foregone Earnings
When considering alternative earnings, special attention must be paid to earnings

foregone while in university. During these years, individuals generally are employed for
part of the year and thus do not forgo an entire year’s salary.
It is assumed that undergraduate students pursuing their first undergraduate degree attend
university for eight months each year. Thus, each year while they are undergraduates,
they are assumed to earn one-third of the earnings of a high school graduate at age 19.
Similarly, students pursuing medical degrees are assumed to attend school for eight
months each year; thus, each year they are in medical school they are assume to earn one-
third of the annual earnings of someone aged 23 years with a bachelor’s degree in the
agricultural-biological field.
13
The sequential approach used for law and the medical fields could also be applied to graduate studies,
which would allow for the direct comparison of returns to different fields at the graduate level. For
example, one could compare the return associated with acquiring a bachelor’s degree in economics
followed by a master’s degree in economics (relative to high school completion) with the return associated
with acquiring a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in say, engineering (relative to high school
completion). However, we have not done this as our focus is on the incremental return associated with each
level of education and field of study.
8
Students in masters programs are assumed to earn more because of teaching
assistant/research assistant duties; hence, they are assumed to earn one-half of the
earnings of a 23-year old graduate of a bachelor’s program. Similarly, Ph.D. students are
assumed to earn one-half of the earnings of a 25-year old graduate of a master’s
program. 14
14
This is the same procedure followed in Ratjje and Emery (2002) and Allen (1999).
9
4. Data
4.1 Earnings Data
The earnings data used in this analysis are from the 1996 Census of Canada. Accordingly,
the estimated life-time earnings profiles will suffer from the same failing common to all
earnings profiles estimated using data from a single cross section, namely, these estimates
will not pick up any cohort effects present in the data. 15
Unlike the studies discussed above which used data from the Census public use
microdata files, this study uses data on the earnings of university graduates from the full
20 per cent sample from the Census. 16 Use of this data affords a more detailed
breakdown of field of study than is available with the public use file. It should be noted
that the form of this data differs as well. This data was made available in the form of a
table that presents average earnings by level of education, detailed field of study, gender
and year of age. This data did not contain information of earnings of high school
graduates. 17 For this reason, average earnings of high school graduates by gender and
year of age was computed from the 1996 public use microdata file.
The strategy followed in this analysis is to define the sample and measure of earnings
such that all possible future outcomes faced by individuals will be considered as fully as
possible. Accordingly, the sample includes all individuals who satisfied the educational
criteria and reported non-zero earnings in the census year. 18 The measure of earnings
includes wages and salaries plus income from self-employment. VA, VBP and ST also
include self-employment income in their definition of earnings and thus, retain the self-
employed in their sample. In contrast, RE includes only paid employees; self-employed
individuals are excluded. Moreover, paid employees had to work at least 26 weeks in the
census year to be included in their sample.
15
Use of a cross sectional data from a single year to derive earnings profiles implicitly assumes that the
future earnings of younger individuals may be accurately represented by the present day earnings of older
workers. If cohort effects are present in the data, this assumption will not hold. See Beaudry and Green
(2000) for a detailed discussion of cohort effects in the earnings patterns of Canadian men.
16
Stager (1996) uses a table produced from the 1991 census, which I believe is from the 20% sample.
17
The table provided by Statistics Canada defined level of education using the ‘DGREEP’ variable, which
refers to the highest degree, certificate or diploma obtained. Using this variable to identify persons with a
high school diploma would include persons who attended schooling beyond high school but for which they
did not obtain a degree. Use of the ‘HLOSP’ variable, which reports highest level of schooling attended,
allows for the identification of high school graduates who had no additional schooling. As the more
detailed field of study variable was not required for computing average earnings for high school graduates,
the earnings data for these people were constructed using the public use file.
18
The decision to retain only those individuals with non-zero earnings means that the analysis will not
consider the experiences of workers who did not work during the census year. As such, this analysis does
not fully account for the possibility of future unemployment. See OECD (2006) for an example of
methodology that explicitly models the probability of unemployment.
10
4.2 Tuition Fees and Non-tuition Fees
Data on tuition fees is taken from Table 1 (University tuition fees for full-time Canadian
students) in “Tuition Fees and Living Accommodation Costs at Canadian Universities
Survey, 1995-96”, (Statistics Canada). Data on non-tuition fees is taken from Table 3
(Additional fees for full-time students) of the same publication. For each of these data
series we compute an unweighted average across major schools by field of study
(additional fees do not vary by field of study). The sum of these two values yields our
estimates of total tuition fees (hereafter, simply tuition fees) for each field of study. 19
Non-fee costs (out of pocket expenses) are from Porter and Jasmin (1987). 20
5. Earnings Regressions
Studies estimating returns to education typically use individual level microdata and
employ ordinary least squares to estimate a relationship between log earnings and age,
level of education and field of study. Predicted values from these regressions allow for
the construction of the age-earnings profiles for each group defined by gender, education
level and field of study used in the rate of return calculations.
In the current analysis we begin with data in the form of average earnings by individual
year of age for each group defined by gender, education level and field of study. Thus,
we already have age-earnings profiles at hand, but inspection of the data reveals that
these series display varying degrees of volatility. These profiles are smoothed using the
same regression techniques used in studies utilizing microdata. 21 Specifically, using data
for a given gender and education level, equation (2) is estimated by ordinary least
squares. Inclusion of dummy variables for each field of study (indexed by i) allows the
ln (earnings) = β 0 + β 1 Age + β 2 Age 2 + ∑ β 0i Field + ∑ β 1i Field x Age (2)
intercept term to vary by field. Field dummies interacted with the Age variable are also
included to allow the Age coefficient to vary by field as well. The coefficient on the Age2
19
This is the same procedure followed in VA and VBP with two differences: VBP do not include additional
fees (Table 3 of publication) and VBP compute tuition levels for 1995-96 using the TLAC data for
1993/94, adjusted for inflation. The tuition fee data used by RE (for 1998-99, adjusted for inflation) was
obtained directly from the websites of seven Canadian universities.
20
I use the value reported in VBP.
21
Methodologically, this results in an important difference between our study and those using microdata.
The earnings profile from a log earnings regression using microdata is not identical to the earnings profile
from a log earnings regression using average values from that same microdata.
11
variable is constrained to be constant across fields of study. Hence, this specification
allows for the construction of earnings profiles specific to field of study.
Within each gender-education level group, three sets of regressions are estimated. At the
highest level of aggregation neither the field dummies nor the interactions of Field and
Age are included in the specification. The second specification includes these variables
with fields defined by major field of study. The third specification is a variant of the
second with fields defined by detailed field of study. Regression results are presented in
the appendix. Construction of earnings profiles in this manner allows for the computation
of rates of return to different levels of education at the aggregate level and by both major
and detailed fields of study. 22 Finally, these earnings profiles are used to compute after-
tax earnings profiles employing the simplified version of the income tax system described
in Section 3.2.
There are some additional issues that must be addressed in estimating these regressions.
In the aggregate earnings data, the number of individuals in the population belonging to a
given cell defined by gender, age and field of study varies across cells. Accordingly, the
regressions are estimated using as weights the number of persons represented by each
cell.
Another issue is whether the data is sufficiently rich to allow for reasonable earnings
profiles to be estimated for groups disaggregated by education level, gender and detailed
field of study. Given the data is in aggregate form, the first question is whether or not
there are sufficient aggregate data points for each group to identify the coefficients on
field and the interaction of field and age. We deal with this issue by assuming that an
earnings profile is sufficiently well identified if there are at least 15 aggregate data points
for the group in question. If either the group associated with the investment or the group
associated with the alternative fail to meet this criteria, we do not report the
corresponding rate of return.
A second related question concerns the quality of the aggregate data points. Some groups
are not well represented in the general population. Thus, even with a data set as large as
the 20 per cent census sample, there will be some detailed fields for which it is not
credible to say that the resulting earnings profile represents an accurate estimate of what a
person could expect to earn if they chose to pursue that education path. This will be
considered when discussing results.
22
Rates of return are computed using the Gauss software program. To ensure robustness, numerous runs
were computed using a wide range of starting values.
12
6. Results
In this section we present the estimated rates of return associated with the completion of
four levels of university study:
- a bachelor’s degree (non-medical) relative to a high school diploma;
- a master’s degree relative to a bachelor’s degree;
- a Ph.D. degree relative to a master’s degree; and
- a medical degree relative to a high school diploma 23 .
Results will be presented separately by gender. The aggregate results and results by major
field of study will be presented first, followed by results by detailed field of study.
6.1 Results by Major Field of Study
Table 2 presents estimated rates of return to different levels of university education at the
aggregate level and by major field of study. 24 As can be seen, there is considerable
variation in returns across both fields and levels of education. 25
23
“Medical degrees” are limited to degrees in the fields of medicine, dentistry, veterinary and optometry
i.e. degrees which entitle the holder to be addressed as “doctor”. Bachelor’s degrees in fields such as
nursing and physiotherapy are included in the “Health Professions” category of non-medical bachelors’
degrees.
24
For some gender-education level-field of study combinations, the gauss program did not converge to a
solution. Such occurrences are noted in the tables.
25
When interpreting our results the reader should bear in mind that the earnings profiles used in this
analysis represent only an expectation of future earnings. Accordingly, there will be a distribution of
realized rates of return. Boothby and Rowe (2002) explicitly examine the dispersion of the private rate of
return to post-secondary education and find that 20 per cent of bachelor’s degree graduates had negative
rates of return on their investment in education. Finnie (2002b) examines the average error associated with
individual’s expectations of future earnings by comparing the earnings profile predicted by the regression
model with individual’s actual earnings.
13
Table 2: Rates of Return by Major Field of Study, 1995
(per cent)
Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Field Men Women Men Women Men Women
Total - Non-medical degrees * 9.9 12.1 4.1 8.6 1.3 4.3
Non-Science 9.1 11.8 7.0 9.6 0.0 3.4
Education 5.4 11.3 9.4 11.4 4.0 -0.2

Fine and Applied Arts b 4.4 3.5 1.3 7.9 7.7
Humanities and Related 3.6 10.0 -6.0 3.8 7.4 5.1
Social Science and Related 10.0 11.7 b 6.2 3.6 7.8
Commerce, Mgt, Bus. and Admin. 13.3 15.9 19.1 23.1 b 2.1
Science 11.5 13.5 1.2 5.2 1.7 6.0
Agricultural and Biological 4.9 9.1 0.7 2.9 6.8 8.9

Engineering 13.0 13.9 -3.9 -0.7 0.9 b
Health Professions 10.4 15.5 16.2 8.2 b 7.1
Math and Physical Science 11.9 14.6 -1.6 2.5 2.9 b
Total - Medical Degrees 15.1 15.9

Note: ‘a’ indicates that the group had insufficient aggregate points for identification.
‘b’ indicates that the program did not converge to a solution.
* Non-medical degrees exclude degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary and optometry, but
include degrees in health professions such as nursing and physiotherapy.
Source: Author’s calculations
6.1.1 Bachelor’s Degrees
As indicated in Table 2, at the aggregate level the return to a (non-medical) bachelor’s

degree is 9.9 per cent for men and 12.1 per cent for women. These estimates suggest that
from a financial point of view, investing in a bachelor’s degree certainly justifies the
associated cost. Inspection of returns by major field of study supports this assertion,
although there is considerable variation in returns across fields.
A useful initial breakdown across fields of study is to classify them as either science or
non-science. When evaluated at this level, we find that science degrees offer higher
returns than non-science degrees. However, this does not hold true for all major fields
within these groups.
For both genders, the highest returns are to degrees in the commerce and engineering
fields. Returns to degrees in the health professions and math and physical sciences are
also relatively high for women, and to a lesser degree, for men. Noticeably lower returns
are observed for degrees in the humanities and agricultural-biological fields for men, and
fine arts for women. Comparison with results from other studies indicates that these
14
general observations hold true across studies, in particular, the observation that rates of
returns to a bachelor’s degree are higher for women than men.
However, the rates of returns estimated in this study are generally lower than those
estimated in other studies, in particular the returns estimated by VBP using 1995 data.
These differences likely reflect differences in methodology noted earlier such as the use
of aggregate data and different treatment of taxes (VBP includes deductions for RRSP
contributions). 26 The precise causes will be explored in future work.
6.1.2 Master’s Degrees
Results at the aggregate level indicate that the returns to pursuing a master’s degree are
positive, although somewhat less than the returns to a bachelor’s degree (4.1 per cent for
men vs. 8.6 per cent for women). Again, we observe in the aggregate and across most
fields of study that returns are greater for women. In contrast to the case for bachelor’s
degrees, at the aggregate level the return to a master’s degree in a non-science field
exceeds the return for a science field by a substantial margin (7.0 per cent vs. 1.2 per cent
for men and 9.6 per cent vs. 5.2 per cent for women). Moreover, this holds true for most
major fields. The highest returns to a master’s degree are for the commerce fields (as was
observed for bachelor’s degrees) and education. Among science fields, only a degree in
health yields a relatively high return. In fact, returns to a master’s degree in some fields
of study are negative, notably, returns to a master’s degree in engineering for both
women and men. 27
6.1.3 Ph.D. Degrees
At the aggregate level, returns to a Ph.D. degree are less than the return to a master’s
degree for both genders (1.3 per cent for men vs. 4.3 per cent for women), but there is
considerable variation in returns across fields. As was the case for bachelor’s degrees, a
Ph.D. in the sciences offers a higher return than a non-science Ph.D. It is interesting that
for both genders the returns to a Ph.D. degree in the fine arts, humanities and agricultural-
biological fields are among the highest by field, whereas the returns to a master’s degree
in these fields was relatively low compared to other fields.
26
Allowing for deductions of RRSP contributions, as does VA and VBP, will result in greater differences
between the earnings stream with the educational investment and the alternative, yielding higher estimated
rates of return.
27
Amongst graduate degrees, particularly at the level of detailed field of study, there are some fields for
which the estimated rate of return is negative. However, such fields account for less than 4 per cent of our
sample.
15
6.2 Results by Detailed Field of Study
Results presented in the previous section clearly indicate that for a given level of
university education there is substantial heterogeneity in rates of return across major
fields of study. In this section we examine returns by major fields to determine if the
same degree of heterogeneity exists within major fields of study.
Table 3a presents rates of return by detailed field of study within social sciences.
Inspection reveals considerable variation in returns within this group.
Examination of this table reveals that at the bachelor’s level, returns to degrees in
economics and law (economics in particular) are noticeably higher than other social
science fields. For each social science field, the return to a bachelor’s degree for a woman
exceeds that of a man, but this female-male differential is more pronounced for
geography, psychology and sociology than is indicated for social sciences as a whole.
At the master’s level, the highest return for men is found in social work; for women, in
economics and social work. Of particular note is the large negative return associated
with a woman attaining a master’s degree in law relative to a bachelor’s degree (-14.2 per
cent).
Table 3a: Rates of Return – Social Sciences, 1995
(per cent)

Social Science and Related 10.0 11.7 b 6.2 3.6 7.8
Economics 12.1 14.2 3.2 9.1 4.9 6.5

Geography 6.2 10.6 3.5 0.6 4.6 7.5
Law and Jurisprudence 11.1 12.9 b -14.2 b b
Politics Sciences 9.3 12.3 0.2 2.1 4.5 4.4
Psychology 5.1 10.0 0.6 6.4 15.1 11.7
Sociology 6.3 11.1 0.3 5.7 9.6 5.9
Social Work b 11.6 8.0 9.9 a a
Other Social Sciences and Related Fie 5.0 9.2 5.1 4.0 -1.5 8.2
At the Ph.D. level, the highest returns for men are to degrees in psychology and
sociology. As is the case for men, a Ph.D. in psychology affords women the highest
return among social science fields; returns to degrees in economics and geography are
also relatively high. With the exception of the “other social sciences” category, the
16
returns to a Ph.D. are positive for all fields, and in most cases greater than the return to a
master’s degree.
Table 3b presents rates of return by detailed field of study within commerce, management
and business administration. In contrast to the social sciences, there is relatively little
variation in returns across detailed fields of study. Moreover, the premium to degrees for
women is relatively constant as well. These observations hold true for both bachelor’s
and master’s levels. The data does not allow for evaluation of returns across detailed
fields at the Ph.D. level.
Table 3b: Rates of Return – Commerce etc., 1995

(per cent)

Commerce, Mgt, Bus. and Admin. 13.3 15.9 19.1 23.1 b 2.1
Business and Commerce 13.7 16.1 21.9 25.8 b -0.6

Financial Management 14.0 16.4 18.9 22.1 0.8 a
Industrial Management 10.6 15.2 8.9 17.2 -3.2 a
Institutional Management a 15.5 12.0 24.0 a a
Marketing 13.3 17.0 15.2 16.6 b a
Secretarial 5.5 5.8 a a a a
Other Commerce etc. b 10.6 a a a a
Returns to degrees in the agricultural and biological fields are presented in Table 3c.
Once again, there are significant differences in rates of returns across detailed fields of
study. At the bachelor’s level the highest return is to a degree in biochemistry for both
men and women. The lowest returns are to a degree in zoology for men and a degree in
botany for women. At the master’s level, most returns for men are similar and close to
zero; the main exception being for a degree in botany and the “other” category, both of
which represent relatively few people in the population. With the exception of the
biology and “other” fields, rates of return to master’s degrees for women are undefined.
17
Table 3c: Rates of Return – Agricultural and Biological, 1995
(per cent)

Agricultural 5.4 8.6 -0.2 b 5.7 a

Biochemistry 6.6 11.7 b b 9.3 6.5
Biology 5.4 8.9 0.6 3.7 5.8 9.2
Botany b 5.2 7.9 b 16.1 a
Veterinary a a b b 3.7 a
Zoology 3.9 7.8 1.6 b 5.7 b
Other Agricultural and Biological b 10.2 4.4 7.2 b 8.1
For men, there are larger differences in returns across detailed fields at the Ph.D. level
than at other levels of education. Relatively high returns are observed for biochemistry
and botany although there are few people with these degrees in the population. Returns
for men in other fields are closely grouped together and somewhat lower. For women the
largest returns are observed for zoology, but again, sample counts for this group are
small.
Table 3d reveals that there are few differences in rates of return to a bachelor’s degree in
specific engineering fields, particularly for men. The only exceptions to this statement are
degrees in the fields of resources-environment engineering, aeronautical/aerospace
engineering and civil engineering, all of which offer relatively low rates of return
compared with bachelor’s degrees in other engineering fields.
18
Table 3d: Rates of Return – Engineering, 1995
(per cent)

Engineering 13.0 13.9 -3.9 -0.7 0.9 b
Aeronautical/Aerospace Eng 8.4 a 22.4 a a a

Biological and Chemistry 15.5 17.7 b -2.6 0.0 a
Civil Engineering 10.8 13.9 -1.7 -2.7 1.1 a
Design/Systems Engineering 16.6 a a a a a
Electrical /Electronics 14.6 19.4 -0.4 -2.0 1.2 a
Industrial/Manuf Eng 14.9 b -4.1 a 5.4 a
Mechanical 14.4 17.0 -7.6 0.9 1.5 a
Mining, Metal and Petroleum 15.1 20.0 -5.8 b -1.4 a
Resources and Environments 5.0 b b 18.2 4.0 a
Engineering 11.8 a 1.0 a 9.5 a
Engineering, n.e.c. 14.3 17.1 5.1 3.5 -5.5 a
Other Eng and App 7.6 7.9 -3.9 b 8.0 a
There is more variation in returns to a master’s degree in engineering, although for

almost all fields, returns are negative, particularly for men. However, a strongly positive
return is obtained for men with master’s degrees in aeronautical/aerospace engineering,
but this should be viewed with some scepticism since few in the population hold such
degrees. Returns for men to a Ph.D. in engineering differ somewhat by field, however,
again small sample counts must be taken into consideration. Data limitations prevent
estimation of rates of return for women who invest in Ph.D. programs in engineering.
Results in Table 3e reveal considerable heterogeneity in returns across detailed fields to
degrees in the math and physical science fields. For both men and women, the greatest
return at the bachelor’s level is to a degree in actuarial science. Degrees in applied
mathematics also offer relatively high returns, particularly for women, whereas returns to
degrees in chemistry and physics are relatively low.
19
Table 3e: Rates of Return – Math and Physical Science, 1995
(per cent)

Math and Physical Science 11.9 14.6 -1.6 2.5 2.9 b
Actuarial Science 21.6 25.0 b a a a

Applied Mathematics 14.3 19.2 3.5 -0.5 1.5 b
Chemistry 9.1 10.3 -7.2 8.7 6.5 b
Geology 13.0 12.6 -2.0 b 1.6 a
Mathematical Statistics b 14.9 7.2 b 0.8 a
Mathematics 11.6 14.6 -2.7 1.6 3.9 a
Physics 8.0 9.7 0.5 3.7 5.3 a
Other Math and Physical Sciences 7.6 10.2 -2.1 b 6.2 a
At the master’s level, returns are generally negative for men, the exceptions being applied
math and mathematical statistics. For women, positive returns are found for degrees in
chemistry, mathematics and physics. Returns to Ph.D. degrees in all fields are positive for
men, with the greatest returns accruing to men with degrees in chemistry and physics.
Data limitations prevent estimation of rates of return for women who invest in Ph.D.
programs in math and the physical sciences.
The final group we will look at is holders of degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary
and optometry, which shall be referred to as “Medical Degrees”. Returns for this group
are presented in Table 3f. At the aggregate level returns to a medical degree are quite
similar for men and women (15.1 per cent for men vs. 15.9 per cent for women) and this
similarity in returns across genders is observed for all detailed fields of study.
Furthermore, there is very little variation in returns across fields of study. The only
exceptions to this are the lower than average returns to degrees in veterinary medicine
(7.4 per cent for men and 9.0 per cent for women) and to a lesser extent, optometry (13.4
per cent and 14.5 per cent for men and women, respectively).
20
Table 3f: Rates of Return – Medical Degrees, 1995
(per cent)
Field Men Women
Medical Degrees 15.1 15.9
Veterinary 7.4 9.0

Dentistry or Dental Medicine 15.8 15.4
General Practice Medicine 15.8 16.9
Medical Specialization non surgical 18.3 18.8
Paraclinical 16.2 12.9
Surgery 17.8 17.9
Optometry 13.4 14.5
Other 9.2 12.0
Other Health Professions, Sciences and Technologies 15.2 17.2
21
7. Sensitivity to Changes in Tuition Fees
7.1 Introduction
In the previous section we observed that there is considerable heterogeneity in returns to

investments in education, however, for most fields of study and levels of education,
investments yield a positive return. The question arises as to how sensitive these results
are to variations in tuition fees. Over the last decade, tuition fees at Canadian universities
have increased sharply. What has been the impact on returns to university education? Are
some of these investments no longer financially viable?
These questions may be addressed using more recent tuition fee data, specifically, data
for the 2002-03 academic year. However, it is problematic to compare changes in fees
between two academic years because many institutions report both lower and upper
bounds on tuition fees for a given field of study. In the 1995-96 data, the reported range
was very narrow and for this reason, only the average of the lower bounds on tuition fees
were used to estimate rates of return. But, in the 2002-03 data, the reported range of
tuition fees was substantially greater. Accordingly, it is instructive to examine three sets
of tuition fees: the average across institutions of the lower bound on tuition fees in 1995-
96 and the averages across institutions of both the lower and upper bounds on tuition fees
in 2002-03. These data are presented in Table 4a. Consideration of these bounds allows
us to document changes in tuition fees between these years and determine the sensitivity
of computed rates of return to variations in costs.
7.2 Description of tuition fee increases.
As seen in Table 4a, between the 1995-96 and 2002-03 academic years, tuition fees
increased substantially at Canadian universities. Moreover, these increases were not
proportionately uniform across fields of study. Among four-year (non-medical) bachelor
degree programs, the smallest increase in tuition fees was for persons studying
agriculture. However, even these were substantial, with the average lower bound on
tuition fees 21 per cent greater in 2002-03 than in 1995-96 and the average upper bound
40 per cent higher. 28,29 At the other extreme, the greatest increase in tuition fees for a
four-year program was reported for fields in commerce – in 2002-03 the average lower
bound was 42 per cent greater than in 1995-96 and the average upper bound was 66 per
cent higher.
28
Unless stated otherwise, values for tuition fees reported here include additional fees common to all full-
time students.
29
These figures represent the lower and upper bounds on tuition fees averaged across institutions. For a
given institution, the range between lower and upper bounds may be greater or less than the corresponding
range between average lower and upper bounds.
22
Table 4a: Average Tuition Fees at Major Canadian Universities, 1995-96 & 2002-03
Major Field Tuition (includes additional fees)

1995-96 2002-03
Lower limit Upper limit
Tuition Tuition Inc. rel. to Tuition Inc. rel. to

1995-96 1995-96
($ 1995) ($ 1995) (per cent) ($ 1995) (per cent)
Non-Medical Bachelor's Degrees
Non-Science
Education 2,728 3,503 28.4 3,959 45.1

Fine and Applied Arts 2,671 3,424 28.2 3,821 43.1
Humanities and Related 2,671 3,424 28.2 3,821 43.1
Social Science and Related 2,671 3,424 28.2 3,821 43.1
Law 2,792 4,358 56.1 5,307 90.1
Commerce, Mgt, Bus. and Admin. 2,646 3,770 42.4 4,381 65.5
Science
Agricultural and Biological

Agricultural 2,625 3,177 21.0 3,667 39.7
Biological 2,719 3,430 26.1 3,900 43.4
Engineering 2,860 3,777 32.1 4,320 51.1
Health Professions 2,719 3,430 26.1 3,900 43.4
Math and Physical Science 2,719 3,430 26.1 3,900 43.4
Medical Degrees
Dentistry 3,348 5,839 74.4 9,980 198.1

Medicine 3,368 6,336 88.1 7,728 129.4
Graduate Degrees 2,710 3,151 16.2 5,813 114.5
Source: Tuition Fees and Living Accommodation Costs at Canadian Universities Survey, 1995-96 and
2002-03
Tuition increases for second bachelor’s degrees were greater still. For example, tuition
fees for law school increased between 56 per cent and 90 per cent (lower and upper
bounds respectively) between 1995-96 and 2002-03. Even more dramatic were the tuition
increases for medical degree programs. Relative to 1995-96, average lower bounds on
tuition fees in 2002-03 increased by 74 per cent in medicine and 88 per cent in dentistry.
The average upper bounds on tuition fees were commensurately higher – 129 per cent for
medicine and a shockingly high 198 per cent for dentistry. 30 On the other hand, tuition
30
See Frenette (2005) for an examination of the impact of the deregulation of tuition fees in Ontario
professional programs in the late 1990s.
23
increases for graduate programs exhibited only a moderate increase at the lower bound
(16 per cent) but a substantial increase at the upper bound (115 per cent).
However, tuition fees (including additional fees mandatory for all full-time students) are
only one of the components of total costs. The other component, non-fee costs, is
assumed to have remained constant between 1995-96 and 2002-03. Accordingly,
increases in total costs between these years are of a lesser magnitude than increases in
tuition fees alone. Data on total costs is present in Table 4b. For example, while tuition
fees for a commerce program increased 42-66 per cent during this period, total costs only
increased 26-40 per cent.
Table 4b: Average Total Costs at Major Canadian Universities, 1995-96 & 2002-03
Major Field Total Costs (Tuition fees + Non-fee costs)

1995-96 2002-03
Lower limit Upper limit
Costs Costs Inc. rel. to Costs Inc. rel. to

1995-96 1995-96
($ 1995) ($ 1995) (per cent) ($ 1995) (per cent)
Non-Medical Bachelor's Degrees
Non-Science
Education 4,481 5,256 17.3 5,712 27.5

Fine and Applied Arts 4,424 5,177 17.0 5,574 26.0
Humanities and Related 4,424 5,177 17.0 5,574 26.0
Social Science and Related 4,424 5,177 17.0 5,574 26.0
Law 4,545 6,111 34.5 7,060 55.3
Commerce, Mgt, Bus. and Admin. 4,399 5,523 25.5 6,134 39.4
Science
Agricultural and Biological

Agricultural 4,378 4,930 12.6 5,420 23.8
Biological 4,472 5,183 15.9 5,653 26.4
Engineering 4,613 5,530 19.9 6,073 31.7
Health Professions 4,472 5,183 15.9 5,653 26.4
Math and Physical Science 4,472 5,183 15.9 5,653 26.4
Medical Degrees
Dentistry 5,101 7,592 48.8 11,733 130.0

Medicine 5,121 8,089 57.9 9,481 85.1
Graduate Degrees 4,463 4,904 9.9 7,566 69.5
Source: Tuition Fees and Living Accommodation Costs at Canadian Universities Survey, 1995-96 and
2002-03 and Porter and Porter and Jasmin (1987)
24
7.3 Sensitivity of Rate of Return Calculation to Variations in Tuition Fees
Computation of rates of return using the 2002-03 cost structure, together with the 1995
earnings data allows us to explore how sensitive returns are to variations in costs. The
impacts of increased tuition fees may be seen in Tables 5a and 5b (men and women,
respectively), which reproduce the estimated returns using the 1995-96 tuition data
(presented in Table 2) together with estimates of returns computed using the 2002-03
tuition data. To determine the maximum impact of the tuition increase these estimates use
averages of the upper bounds of the 2002-03 tuition data.
Inspection of these results reveals that use of 2002-03 tuition levels has relatively
moderate impacts on estimates of rates of return. For no major field-education level
combination does the higher tuition fees render a previously profitable investment
unprofitable. The return to a bachelor’s degree is reduced by no more than 1.7 percentage
points, although total costs increased by as much as 40 per cent and tuition fees increased
66 per cent). 31 The maximum increase in tuition fees for graduate degrees was 115 per
Table 5a: Rates of Return by Major Field of Study, 1995 and 2002, Men
(per cent)

Field 1995 2002 1995 2002 1995 2002
Non-Science 9.1 8.5 7.0 5.6 0.0 -0.4
Education 5.4 5.0 9.4 8.0 4.0 3.1

Fine and Applied Arts b b 3.5 3.0 7.9 6.4
Humanities and Related 3.6 3.3 -6.0 -6.2 7.4 6.2
Social Science and Related 10.0 9.5 b b 3.6 2.7
Commerce, Mgt, Bus. and Admin. 13.3 12.2 19.1 16.3 b b
Science 11.5 10.7 1.2 0.8 1.7 1.2

Engineering 13.0 12.1 -3.9 -4.1 0.9 0.5
Health Professions 10.4 9.7 16.2 14.6 b b
Math and Physical Science 11.9 11.1 -1.6 -1.8 2.9 2.3

includes degrees in health professions such as nursing and physiotherapy.
31
RE explore the feasibility of a differential tuition fee scheme by computing tuition levels that would yield
a 4.25 per cent rate of return to a bachelor’s degree. Their results suggest the relationship between tuition
increases and returns is of a magnitude similar to our findings.
25
cent, which increased total costs by 70 per cent, leading to a maximum reduction of the
return to a master’s degree of 3.7 p.p. and to a Ph.D. degree of 1.6 p.p.
The maximum increase in tuition fees was observed for medicine and dentistry, for whom
total costs increased by 85 per cent and 130 per cent, respectively. However, even
increases of this magnitude resulted in only moderate reductions in rates of returns (1.9
p.p. and 2.6 p.p., respectively).
Table 5b: Rates of Return by Major Field of Study, 1995 and 2002, Women
(per cent)

Field 1995 2002 1995 2002 1995 2002
Non-Science 11.8 10.8 9.6 8.1 3.4 2.6
Education 11.3 10.5 11.4 9.7 -0.2 -0.7

Fine and Applied Arts 4.4 3.9 1.3 0.8 7.7 6.6
Humanities and Related 10.0 9.3 3.8 3.1 5.1 4.1
Social Science and Related 11.7 10.9 6.2 5.1 7.8 6.4
Commerce, Mgt, Bus. and Admin. 15.9 14.2 23.1 19.5 2.1 1.4
Science 13.5 12.4 5.2 4.4 6.0 4.9

Engineering 13.9 12.6 -0.7 -1.1 b b
Health Professions 15.5 14.4 8.2 7.1 7.1 6.2
Math and Physical Science 14.6 13.6 2.5 2.0 b b

includes degrees in health professions such as nursing and physiotherapy.
26
8. Conclusions and Future Work
This study has examined rates of return to different levels of university education by field
of study. Results indicate that the heterogeneity in return across major fields of study
reported in other studies extends within fields as well. At the bachelor’s level, this is
particularly noticeable for detailed fields within social sciences, agricultural-biological
sciences and mathematics and physical sciences. At the master’s and Ph.D. levels varying
degrees of heterogeneity are observed. It is likely that this is influenced by the
assumption that the alternative earnings series corresponds to the same field of study as
the investment. It must be remembered that the rates of return associated with the
completion of different bachelor’s programs are relative to the common benchmark of
high school completion. But, returns for graduate programs are relative to completion of
the next lowest education level in the same field of study. Returns to medical degrees are
remarkably similar across both gender and field of study. However, the return to a degree
in veterinary medicine is roughly one-half that of other medical degrees. Returns to a
degree in optometry are somewhat lower as well.
Rates of return to bachelor’s degrees are found to be positive for all detailed fields of
study; thus, from a strictly financial point of view, pursuing an undergraduate education
is a sound investment. The same holds true for the vast majority of individuals pursuing
graduate degrees. Pursuing a master’s degree in commerce, management, business and
administration pays off very handsomely. There are some fields for which a master’s
degree will not pay for itself, although individuals pursuing these fields comprise less
than 4 per cent of our sample. Notably, for some fields such as social sciences,
agricultural-biological sciences and math and physical sciences, the return to a Ph.D.
degree often exceeds the return to a master’s degree. Indeed, for these fields, the primary
reward of obtaining a master’s degree may be that it allows an individual to pursue a
Ph.D. degree.
Use of the 2002-03 tuition fee data with the 1995 earnings data indicates that the recent
increases in tuition fees has a noticeable, but not overwhelming, impact on rates of return.
In general, no field that was profitable under the 1995-96 cost structure is rendered
unprofitable despite the substantial increases in costs experienced between these time
periods. Even degrees in the medical fields, with the greatest increases in tuition fees,
exhibited only moderate declines in rates of return: 1.5 p.p. for medicine and 2.6 p.p. for
dentistry.
It should be noted that the results in this work should be considered within the context of
the assumptions involved in the analysis. Issues such as sample selection and the richness
of the data must be taken into account when interpreting results. In particular, it must be
remembered that the earnings profiles used to compute rates of return represent only an
27
expectation of what a person will earn at each stage of their life. In reality there is not a
single earnings value corresponding to a particular age, but rather a distribution of
earnings. Accordingly, there exists a distribution of rates of returns as well. Nevertheless,
these results illustrate important differences in returns across university programs and
provide a useful staring point for future work.
28
References
Allen, Robert C. (1999). ‘Education and Technological Revolutions: The Role of Social
Science and Humanities in the Knowledge Based Economy.’ Social Sciences Research
Council. Mimeographed. Available at Internet website: www.sshrc.ca.
Appleby, John, Maxime Fougère and Manon Rouleau (2002). ‘Is Post-Secondary
Education in Canada a Cost-Effective Proposition?’, Applied Research Branch, Strategic
Policy, Human Resources Development Canada Working Paper W-01-9E.
Beaudry, Paul and David. A. Green (2000). ‘Cohort Patterns in Canadian Earnings:
Assessing the Role of Skill Premia in Inequality Trends’, Canadian Journal of
Economics 33, no. 4 (907-36).
Boothby, Daniel and Geoff Rowe (2002). ‘Rate of Return to Education: A Distributional
Analysis Using the LifePaths Model’, Applied Research Branch, Strategic Policy, Human
Resources Development Canada Working Paper W-02-8E.
Bourdarbat, Brahim and Thomas Lemieux (2003). ‘Field of Study and Earnings of
Recent College Graduates in Canada’, mimeo, University of British Columbia.
Davis, Jim (2003). ‘Empirical Evidence on Human Externalities’, Department of Finance
Working Paper 2003-11.
Dodge, David and David Stager (1972).‘Economic Returns to Graduate Study in Science,
Engineering and Business,’ Canadian Journal of Economics 5, no. 2 (182-198).
Finnie, Ross (2002a). ‘Early Labour Market Outcomes of Recent Canadian University
Graduates by Discipline: A Longitudinal, Cross-Cohort Analysis’, Business and Labour
Market Analysis Division Research Paper, Statistics Canada (11F0019MIE No.164).
Finnie, Ross (2002b). ‘A Matter of Discipline: Early Career Outcomes of Recent
Canadian University Graduates’, Renovating the ivory tower: Canadian universities and
the knowledge economy, Toronto, C.D. Howe Institute (169-214).
Frenette, Marc (2005). ‘The Impact of Tuition Fees on University Access: Evidence from
a Large-scale Price Deregulation in Professional Programs’, Analytical Studies Branch
Research Paper, Statistics Canada (11F0019MIE No. 263).
Gluszynski, Tomasz and Valerie Peters (2005). ‘Survey of Earned Doctorates: A Profile
of Doctoral Recipients’, Ottawa, Statistics Canada (81-595-MIE2005032)
Mincer, Jacob, (1974). Schooling, Experience and Earnings, New York: Columbia
University Press for the National Bureau of Economic Research.
29
Moretti, Enrico (2004). ‘Estimating the Social Return to Higher Education: Evidence
from Longitudinal and Repeated Cross-Sectional Data’, Journal of Econometrics v. 121
issue 1-2 pp. 175-212.
OECD (2006). ‘The Policy Determinants of Investment in Tertiary Education: Data and
Methodological Issues, ECO/GEN(2006)1.
Porter, Marion and Gilles Jasmin (1987). ‘A Profile of post-secondary students in
Canada: the 1983-1984 national post-secondary student survey’, Ottawa, Secretary of
State and Statistics Canada.
Rathje, Kelly Ann and J.C. Herbert Emery. (2002). ‘Returns to University Education in
Canada Using New Estimates of Program Costs’, Renovating the ivory tower: Canadian
universities and the knowledge economy, Toronto, C.D. Howe Institute (241-264).
Stager, David, (1996). ‘Returns to Investment in Ontario University Education, 1960-
1990, and Implications for Tuition Fee Policy,’ Canadian Journal of Higher Education
26, no. 2.
Vaillancourt, François, (1995). ‘The Private and Total Returns to Education in Canada,
1985,’ Canadian Journal of Economics 28, no.3 (532-554).
Vaillancourt, François, and Sandrine Bourdeau-Primeau, (2002). ‘The Returns to
University Education in Canada, 1990 and 1995’, Renovating the ivory tower: Canadian
universities and the knowledge economy, Toronto, C.D. Howe Institute (215-240).
30
Appendix
Table A1: Regression Results - Bachelor's Degree - Aggregate
Men Women
Variables Coef. Std. Err. Coef. Std. Err.
Constant 5.9425 * 0.0872 6.4705 * 0.0772

Age 0.2153 * 0.0045 0.1804 * 0.0041
Age2 -0.0023 * 0.0001 -0.0020 * 0.0001
* = Stat. Sig at 5% level R2 = 0.7183 N= 1858 R2 = 0.7019 N= 1615
Table A2: Regression Results - Master's Degree - Aggregate
Men Women
Constant 5.7574 * 0.1524 6.5854 * 0.1400

Age 0.2224 * 0.0072 0.1728 * 0.0069
Age2 -0.0023 * 0.0001 -0.0018 * 0.0001
Table A3: Regression Results - Ph.D. Degree - Aggregate
Men Women
Constant 6.5132 * 0.2048 7.7225 * 0.3534

Age 0.1749 * 0.0090 0.1187 * 0.0160
Age2 -0.0016 * 0.0001 -0.0011 * 0.0002
R2 = 0.4569 N= 1223 R2 = 0.2782 N= 479
Table A4: Regression Results - Medical Degrees (incl. Dentistry, Veterinary & Optometry) - Aggregate
Men Women
Constant 7.5394 * 0.3392 8.2034 * 0.4354

Age 0.1695 * 0.0155 0.1288 * 0.0213
Age2 -0.0017 * 0.0002 -0.0013 * 0.0003
R2 = 0.3769 N= 308 R2 = 0.2325 N= 220
31
Table A5: Regression Results - Bachelor's Degree - Major Fields
Men Women
Constant 6.0176 * 0.0879 6.3512 * 0.0774

Age 0.2067 * 0.0038 0.1827 * 0.0038
Age2 -0.0022 * 0.0000 -0.0020 * 0.0000
Field Variables Field Coef. Std. Err. Field*Age Coef. Std. Err. Field Coef. Std. Err. Field*Age Coef. Std. Err.
Fine and Applied Arts -0.5341 * 0.1431 0.0056 0.0037 -0.1660 0.0991 -0.0032 0.0026
Humanities and Related -0.3626 * 0.0789 0.0076 * 0.0019 -0.0804 0.0582 0.0005 0.0015
Eng and Applied Science 0.0292 0.4309 -0.0022 0.0101 0.9594 1.1006 -0.0368 0.0324
Social Sciences -0.2619 * 0.0687 0.0121 * 0.0017 0.0119 0.0522 0.0001 0.0014
Comm/Mgmt/Admin 0.1705 * 0.0695 0.0036 * 0.0017 0.5653 * 0.0643 -0.0118 * 0.0018
Agricultural/Biological -0.2573 * 0.1046 0.0062 * 0.0027 -0.0469 0.0849 -0.0016 0.0023
Eng 0.1765 * 0.0691 0.0032 0.0017 0.5497 * 0.1341 -0.0136 * 0.0040
Health 0.1602 0.1299 0.0004 0.0032 0.4192 * 0.0664 -0.0075 * 0.0017
Math/PhySci 0.2663 * 0.0789 -0.0011 0.0020 0.2835 * 0.0918 -0.0043 0.0025
* = Stat. Sig at 5% level R2 = 0.8312 N= 1858 R2 = 1 0.782 N= 1615
Table A6: Regression Results - Master's Degree - Major Fields
Men Women
Constant 5.9170 * 0.1451 6.3904 * 0.1280

Age 0.2125 * 0.0057 0.1809 * 0.0056 #
Age2 -0.0022 * 0.0001 -0.0018 * 0.0001 #
Fine and Applied Arts -1.1457 * 0.2077 0.0178 * 0.0048 -0.5172 * 0.1540 # 0.0004 0.0037
Humanities and Related -0.6291 * 0.1105 0.0090 * 0.0024 -0.2780 * 0.0832 # 0.0017 0.0019
Eng and Applied Science -0.6716 0.7136 0.0114 0.0175 -2.4840 5.7032 # 0.0430 0.1316
Social Sciences -0.2410 * 0.1060 0.0075 * 0.0023 0.0074 0.0794 # -0.0024 0.0018
Comm/Mgmt/Admin 0.4615 * 0.1018 -0.0008 0.0022 0.8951 * 0.1011 # -0.0156 * 0.0025
Agricultural/Biological -0.4111 * 0.1622 0.0066 0.0037 0.1494 0.1435 # -0.0101 * 0.0037
Eng -0.0079 0.1044 0.0034 0.0023 0.4473 * 0.1795 # -0.0161 * 0.0048
Health -0.3231 0.1650 0.0184 * 0.0037 0.2782 * 0.1045 # -0.0052 * 0.0025
Math/PhySci -0.1190 0.1201 0.0038 0.0027 -0.0663 0.1418 # 0.0000 0.0035
#
* = Stat. Sig at 5% level R2 = 0.752 N= 1653 R2 = 1 0.7285 N= 1278
Table A7: Regression Results - Ph.D. Degree - Major Fields
Men Women
Constant 6.9045 * 0.2921 7.0400 * 0.4354

Age 0.1645 * 0.0097 0.1422 * 0.0169
Age2 -0.0016 * 0.0001 -0.0013 * 0.0002
Fine and Applied Arts -1.0282 * 0.3939 0.0170 * 0.0081 -1.1853 * 0.5618 0.0221 0.0123
Eng and Applied Science 0.1930 0.7994 -0.0135 0.0173 (dropped) (dropped)
Social Sciences -0.1432 0.2229 0.0048 0.0044 0.3965 0.2578 -0.0064 0.0054
Comm/Mgmt/Admin 0.3520 0.3328 -0.0047 0.0068 1.1932 0.6896 -0.0205 0.0164
Agricultural/Biological -0.4687 * 0.2291 0.0095 * 0.0046 0.4095 0.3003 -0.0096 0.0066
Eng -0.3494 0.2204 0.0090 * 0.0044 2.4925 * 0.9947 -0.0675 * 0.0270
Health -0.2012 0.2296 0.0105 * 0.0046 0.1863 0.2857 0.0021 0.0062
Math/PhySci -0.4650 * 0.2125 0.0107 * 0.0042 0.8744 * 0.3411 -0.0218 * 0.0078
32
Table A8: Regression Results - Bachelor's Degree - Detailed Fields
Men Women
Variable Coef. Std. Err. Coef. Std. Err.
Constant 5.9140 * 0.0686 6.4168 * 0.0671

Age 0.2121 * 0.0030 0.1792 * 0.0033
Age2 -0.0023 * 0.0000 -0.0019 * 0.0000
Fine and Applied Arts -0.5269 * 0.1101 0.0054 0.0028 -0.1674 * 0.0849 -0.0031 0.0022
Economics 0.0039 0.0782 0.0072 * 0.0020 0.4710 * 0.1218 -0.0110 * 0.0034
Geography -0.1340 0.1056 0.0042 0.0028 -0.1096 0.1416 0.0021 0.0040
Law and Jurisprudence -0.4575 * 0.0851 0.0248 * 0.0020 -0.1382 0.1148 0.0146 * 0.0032
Politics Sciences 0.1785 0.0943 -0.0014 0.0025 0.0842 0.1154 -0.0013 0.0034
Psychology -0.3573 * 0.0964 0.0089 * 0.0025 -0.0878 0.0668 0.0007 0.0018
Sociology 0.0253 0.1073 0.0000 0.0028 0.0177 0.0804 -0.0010 0.0022
Social Work 0.2300 0.2114 -0.0074 0.0052 0.2104 * 0.1038 -0.0061 * 0.0027
Other Social Sciences -0.1433 0.1240 0.0033 0.0033 -0.2754 * 0.1027 0.0050 0.0028
Business/Commerce 0.1135 0.0650 0.0059 * 0.0016 0.5774 * 0.0821 -0.0120 * 0.0023
Financial Mgmt 0.2564 * 0.0682 0.0019 0.0017 0.6167 * 0.0825 -0.0129 * 0.0023
Industrial Mgmt 0.1153 0.1015 0.0019 0.0026 0.3224 * 0.1216 -0.0048 0.0035
Institutional Mgmt (dropped) 0.0068 0.0195 -0.0452 1.0167 0.0075 0.0213
Marketing 0.3954 * 0.1316 -0.0033 0.0036 0.7175 * 0.1719 -0.0155 * 0.0053
Secretarial -0.1825 0.6425 0.0048 0.0154 -0.0550 0.2904 -0.0050 0.0072
Other Comm/Mgmt/Admin 0.4129 0.4028 -0.0113 0.0111 0.3675 0.5022 -0.0122 0.0163
Agricultural 0.0692 0.1394 -0.0019 0.0033 0.2590 0.2377 -0.0111 0.0067
Biochemistry -0.4029 * 0.1989 0.0117 * 0.0055 -0.1430 0.2375 0.0048 0.0070
Biology -0.4322 * 0.1091 0.0111 * 0.0029 -0.2292 * 0.1090 0.0034 0.0031
Botany -0.0215 0.7462 -0.0100 0.0202 -0.2955 0.5126 0.0008 0.0147
Veterinary -2.0465 1.9348 0.0452 0.0454 -6.6009 * 3.3101 0.2285 0.1260
Zoology -0.3480 0.2769 0.0075 0.0070 -0.0974 0.3219 -0.0018 0.0092
Other Agricultural 0.1466 0.3786 -0.0048 0.0103 0.1679 0.1220 -0.0066 * 0.0031
Aeronautical/ Aerospace Eng -0.2236 0.3136 0.0090 0.0082 -1.3035 8.7487 0.0751 0.3572
Bio/Chem Eng 0.1800 0.1336 0.0067 * 0.0032 0.6994 * 0.2911 -0.0136 0.0086
Civil Eng -0.0549 0.0917 0.0073 * 0.0022 0.7243 * 0.2859 -0.0194 * 0.0085
Design/Systems Eng 0.4809 0.8763 -0.0016 0.0268 -0.9099 2.8960 0.0548 0.1005
Electrical/Electronics Eng 0.4060 * 0.0795 -0.0018 0.0020 1.0140 * 0.3233 -0.0221 * 0.0100
Industrial/Manuf Eng 0.7168 * 0.2341 -0.0115 0.0061 1.1627 0.7102 -0.0326 0.0221
Mechanical Eng 0.3103 * 0.0834 0.0010 0.0021 1.0076 * 0.3635 -0.0251 * 0.0113
Mining/Metal/Petrol Eng 0.0322 0.1725 0.0107 * 0.0041 0.1672 0.8957 0.0080 0.0277
Resource/Environ Eng -0.0785 0.2257 0.0018 0.0062 0.1945 0.4730 -0.0124 0.0161
Eng 0.0642 0.2727 0.0051 0.0069 -1.3915 2.3313 0.0549 0.0844
Eng, n.e.c. 0.2056 * 0.0905 0.0041 0.0022 0.6027 * 0.3053 -0.0112 0.0089
Other Eng and App -0.1486 0.1093 0.0061 * 0.0026 -0.1158 0.2377 -0.0010 0.0069
Eng and Applied Science 0.0235 0.3313 -0.0021 0.0078 0.9489 0.9424 -0.0365 0.0277
Dentistry -1.4760 * 0.7022 0.0344 0.0192 -2.6521 * 1.2771 0.0775 0.0411
Genl Prac Med -1.7935 * 0.4447 0.0417 * 0.0118 -2.3668 * 0.5580 0.0557 * 0.0161
Medl Spec non surg 0.3367 1.7436 -0.0086 0.0538 -1.7541 0.9787 0.0339 0.0313
Paraclinical -2.1692 1.5499 0.0670 0.0559 0.2462 2.0730 -0.0114 0.0766
Surgery (dropped) (dropped) (dropped) (dropped)
Nursing 0.3193 0.2719 -0.0088 0.0071 0.2965 * 0.0709 -0.0048 * 0.0017
Optometry (dropped) (dropped) (dropped) -0.0290 0.0378
Other 0.5334 * 0.1196 -0.0058 * 0.0029 0.8094 * 0.0880 -0.0162 * 0.0023
Other Health -0.0023 0.2668 -0.0017 0.0075 -0.1105 0.2125 0.0035 0.0058
Actuarial Science 0.3422 0.3081 0.0102 0.0091 0.0292 0.7387 0.0209 0.0251
App Math 0.7122 * 0.0945 -0.0122 * 0.0026 0.5931 * 0.1665 -0.0081 0.0048
Chemistry -0.1702 0.1275 0.0083 * 0.0030 -0.0412 0.1869 -0.0002 0.0049
Geology 0.3661 * 0.1637 -0.0027 0.0040 0.1656 0.3735 -0.0034 0.0106
Math Stats 0.3142 0.4595 -0.0082 0.0131 -0.1841 0.5935 0.0111 0.0185
Math 0.1584 0.1235 0.0019 0.0030 0.2323 0.1649 -0.0027 0.0042
Physics -0.1409 0.1445 0.0062 0.0035 -0.5863 0.3758 0.0147 0.0104
Other Math/PhySci -0.2151 0.1139 0.0078 * 0.0028 -0.1170 0.1422 0.0019 0.0037
33
Table A9: Regression Results - Master's Degree - Detailed Fields
Men Women
Variable Coef. Std. Err. Coef. Std. Err.
Constant 5.8984 * 0.1169 6.4012 * 0.1168

Age 0.2133 * 0.0046 0.1804 * 0.0052
Age2 -0.0022 * 0.0000 -0.0018 * 0.0001
Field Variable Field Coef. Std. Err. Field*Age Coef. Std. Err. Field Coef. Std. Err. Field*Age Coef. Std. Err.
Humanities and Related -0.6274 * 0.0880 0.0090 * 0.0019 -0.2786 * 0.0744 0.0017 0.0017
Economics -0.0120 0.1262 0.0051 0.0029 0.3695 * 0.1772 -0.0091 * 0.0045
Geography -0.4897 * 0.2156 0.0103 * 0.0050 -0.1376 0.2898 -0.0018 0.0074
Law and Jurisprudence -0.0751 0.1411 0.0139 * 0.0032 -0.0313 0.1958 0.0063 0.0049
Politics Sciences -0.3116 * 0.1573 0.0063 0.0038 0.0944 0.1897 -0.0057 0.0050
Psychology -0.4958 * 0.1587 0.0089 * 0.0035 -0.0735 0.1064 -0.0022 0.0025
Sociology -0.7875 * 0.2119 0.0148 * 0.0048 -0.0362 0.1730 -0.0024 0.0042
Social Work -0.1402 0.2074 0.0021 0.0043 0.0961 0.1132 -0.0035 0.0026
Other Social Sciences -0.3586 * 0.1547 0.0069 0.0036 -0.2119 0.1509 -0.0001 0.0037
Business/Commerce 0.4168 * 0.0893 0.0024 0.0020 0.8941 * 0.1201 -0.0138 * 0.0031
Financial Mgmt 0.6660 * 0.1202 -0.0063 * 0.0027 1.0759 * 0.1938 -0.0214 * 0.0051
Industrial Mgmt 0.0962 0.1366 0.0021 0.0030 0.6842 * 0.1562 -0.0128 * 0.0039
Institutional Mgmt 0.3162 0.4674 -0.0014 0.0105 0.7042 * 0.3065 -0.0105 0.0072
Marketing 0.4396 * 0.2159 -0.0018 0.0052 0.8926 * 0.3346 -0.0176 0.0095
Secretarial 6.2901 5.2845 -0.1115 0.0950 (dropped) (dropped)
Other Comm/Mgmt/Admin (dropped) 0.0053 0.0173 3.4022 * 1.6382 -0.1069 * 0.0429
Agricultural -0.0840 0.2321 -0.0016 0.0053 0.5090 0.3846 -0.0220 * 0.0105
Biochemistry -0.3903 0.3772 0.0060 0.0097 0.0674 0.3179 -0.0057 0.0083
Biology -0.5957 * 0.1767 0.0116 * 0.0043 -0.0646 0.1825 -0.0042 0.0047
Botany -1.1468 0.8670 0.0194 0.0203 0.6328 0.5447 -0.0282 * 0.0140
Veterinary 0.0778 0.7954 -0.0005 0.0179 -0.3068 0.9303 0.0070 0.0247
Zoology -0.3485 0.3127 0.0047 0.0071 0.0525 0.5180 -0.0109 0.0139
Other Agricultural -0.7752 0.7648 0.0156 0.0191 0.5750 * 0.2721 -0.0194 * 0.0067
Aeronautical/ Aerospace Eng 0.3814 0.3458 -0.0041 0.0085 (dropped) (dropped)
Bio/Chem Eng 0.0655 0.1965 0.0035 0.0046 0.3590 0.4278 -0.0117 0.0120
Civil Eng -0.3193 * 0.1342 0.0094 * 0.0030 0.6674 0.4053 -0.0233 * 0.0109
Design/Systems Eng 1.1608 1.6528 -0.0273 0.0430 (dropped) 0.0255 0.0186
Electrical/Electronics Eng 0.1676 0.1239 0.0003 0.0029 0.4382 0.3539 -0.0147 0.0095
Industrial/Manuf Eng 0.1612 0.4618 -0.0038 0.0118 1.9852 1.8767 -0.0555 0.0529
Mechanical Eng -0.1278 0.1448 0.0052 0.0033 0.5304 0.5187 -0.0180 0.0138
Mining/Metal/Petrol Eng -0.2941 0.2517 0.0131 * 0.0058 0.5632 1.1308 -0.0208 0.0303
Resource/Environ Eng 0.3675 0.2830 -0.0110 0.0070 0.0530 0.4626 -0.0032 0.0129
Eng 0.0977 0.4754 0.0015 0.0113 -6.3679 6.4706 0.1967 0.2057
Eng, n.e.c. 0.4726 * 0.1372 -0.0043 0.0031 0.5696 0.4893 -0.0139 0.0132
Other Eng and App -0.5834 * 0.1694 0.0110 * 0.0038 0.1326 0.3295 -0.0123 0.0086
Eng and Applied Science -0.6677 0.5678 0.0113 0.0139 -2.4841 5.0931 0.0430 0.1175
Dentistry -0.1007 0.4688 0.0149 0.0101 0.4410 0.8948 -0.0080 0.0225
Genl Prac Med 0.0663 0.2054 0.0154 * 0.0046 0.4812 0.3090 0.0003 0.0077
Medl Spec non surg -1.4875 * 0.6347 0.0502 * 0.0156 -1.7141 * 0.5067 0.0506 * 0.0134
Paraclinical 0.1635 0.9589 -0.0117 0.0278 -1.1114 * 0.5302 0.0177 0.0144
Surgery 0.1342 0.7326 0.0158 0.0176 (dropped) (dropped)
Nursing 0.1788 1.0526 -0.0047 0.0225 -0.0069 0.1636 0.0002 0.0036
Optometry (dropped) 0.0145 0.0103 115.7912 * 29.9467 -3.1740 * 0.8226
Other 0.3663 0.2510 -0.0056 0.0059 0.6860 * 0.1308 -0.0161 * 0.0033
Other Health -0.8773 * 0.2352 0.0286 * 0.0058 -0.1364 0.2442 0.0023 0.0064
Actuarial Science -1.4933 0.9783 0.0358 0.0229 (dropped) (dropped)
App Math 0.4686 * 0.1509 -0.0082 * 0.0037 0.3542 0.2692 -0.0076 0.0071
Chemistry -0.4467 * 0.2010 0.0095 * 0.0045 0.0088 0.2444 -0.0029 0.0060
Geology -0.0626 0.1977 0.0029 0.0046 0.9868 * 0.4556 -0.0294 * 0.0126
Math Stats -0.1221 0.3430 0.0026 0.0081 0.4094 0.5879 -0.0069 0.0161
Math -0.5487 * 0.2012 0.0128 * 0.0044 -1.0288 * 0.2730 0.0212 * 0.0065
Physics -0.6838 * 0.1802 0.0150 * 0.0042 -1.8162 * 0.4520 0.0387 * 0.0105
Other Math/PhySci -0.3842 0.2123 0.0078 0.0048 0.0901 0.3077 -0.0072 0.0077
34
Table A10: Regression Results - Ph.D. degree - Detailed Fields
Men Women
Variable Coef. Std. Err. Coef. Std. Err. Coef. Std. Err. Coef. Std. Err.
Constant 6.8482 * 0.2666 6.8601 * 0.4276

Age 0.1668 * 0.0090 0.1500 * 0.0167
Age2 -0.0016 * 0.0001 -0.0014 * 0.0002
Economics -0.2872 0.2688 0.0119 * 0.0054 1.0356 0.8320 -0.0204 0.0197
Geography -0.7082 0.4055 0.0154 0.0082 -1.7250 1.2741 0.0411 0.0293
Law and Jurisprudence 0.5070 0.4054 -0.0087 0.0084 0.8830 0.8803 -0.0169 0.0212
Politics Sciences -0.5079 0.3734 0.0110 0.0076 -0.4163 0.8224 0.0090 0.0190
Psychology 0.2834 0.2337 -0.0038 0.0047 0.5478 * 0.2596 -0.0090 0.0055
Sociology -0.5806 0.3464 0.0130 0.0069 -0.0092 0.4208 0.0011 0.0091
Social Work 1.1256 2.0543 -0.0224 0.0421 -0.7948 1.2304 0.0169 0.0248
Other Social Sciences -0.9408 * 0.3437 0.0160 * 0.0069 0.0719 0.4422 -0.0011 0.0092
Business/Commerce 0.1740 0.3644 -0.0009 0.0074 1.0394 0.7118 -0.0166 0.0167
Financial Mgmt 0.7235 0.5869 -0.0091 0.0124 (dropped) 0.0113 0.0065
Industrial Mgmt 0.0539 0.6436 -0.0002 0.0133 2.7332 1.9406 -0.0559 0.0460
Institutional Mgmt (dropped) (dropped) (dropped) (dropped)
Marketing 3.0654 * 1.0360 -0.0760 * 0.0240 (dropped) -0.0026 0.0107
Secretarial (dropped) (dropped) (dropped) (dropped)
Other Comm/Mgmt/Admin (dropped) (dropped) (dropped) (dropped)
Agricultural -0.4186 0.3514 0.0074 0.0072 0.1307 1.8142 -0.0009 0.0465
Biochemistry -0.3108 0.2852 0.0075 0.0059 0.6833 0.3737 -0.0158 0.0082
Biology -0.6614 * 0.2368 0.0139 * 0.0049 0.0412 0.3589 0.0003 0.0083
Botany -0.5781 0.4539 0.0131 0.0092 -1.1435 5.0421 0.0182 0.1329
Veterinary -0.4029 0.6441 0.0103 0.0140 (dropped) 0.0115 0.0110
Zoology -0.3927 0.3787 0.0067 0.0078 2.2837 * 0.9754 -0.0539 * 0.0218
Other Agricultural 0.5944 0.5885 -0.0180 0.0120 0.7030 0.6472 -0.0156 0.0149
Aeronautical/ Aerospace Eng 0.0540 0.7741 0.0008 0.0169 (dropped) (dropped)
Bio/Chem Eng -0.2638 0.2830 0.0084 0.0059 (dropped) (dropped)
Civil Eng -0.8409 * 0.2888 0.0187 * 0.0060 -40.1438 21.2899 1.2023 0.6354
Design/Systems Eng (dropped) -0.0081 0.0086 (dropped) (dropped)
Electrical/Electronics Eng -0.3204 0.2480 0.0093 0.0052 3.2333 * 1.2918 -0.0872 * 0.0366
Industrial/Manuf Eng -0.4465 1.6046 0.0115 0.0337 (dropped) (dropped)
Mechanical Eng -0.4294 0.2783 0.0103 0.0059 (dropped) (dropped)
Mining/Metal/Petrol Eng -0.2644 0.4359 0.0097 0.0088 (dropped) 0.0014 0.0100
Resource/Environ Eng -1.2997 * 0.6387 0.0272 0.0153 (dropped) -0.0301 * 0.0095
Eng 0.7884 1.1313 -0.0124 0.0318 (dropped) (dropped)
Eng, n.e.c. -0.0127 0.2888 0.0013 0.0059 (dropped) (dropped)
Other Eng and App -0.1017 0.4201 0.0015 0.0087 3.8483 3.5154 -0.0884 0.0830
Eng and Applied Science 0.1994 0.7204 -0.0136 0.0156 (dropped) (dropped)
Dentistry 3.1190 * 1.0973 -0.0696 * 0.0259 (dropped) (dropped)
Genl Prac Med 0.3823 0.2896 0.0044 0.0058 0.6356 0.4192 -0.0010 0.0095
Medl Spec non surg -0.1884 0.4100 0.0143 0.0089 -1.7352 * 0.6568 0.0476 * 0.0145
Paraclinical -1.2193 * 0.4062 0.0259 * 0.0086 0.1045 0.8935 -0.0038 0.0238
Surgery 0.9189 0.5207 -0.0032 0.0101 (dropped) (dropped)
Nursing (dropped) -0.0409 * 0.0120 -0.2041 0.9183 0.0042 0.0189
Optometry (dropped) 0.0048 0.0068 (dropped) (dropped)
Other 0.6152 0.3331 -0.0131 0.0073 0.7027 0.4295 -0.0120 0.0103
Other Health -0.1298 0.2466 0.0050 0.0051 0.2896 0.3531 -0.0022 0.0079
Actuarial Science (dropped) 0.0152 0.0080 (dropped) (dropped)
App Math -0.3199 0.2848 0.0079 0.0062 1.0827 0.8435 -0.0274 0.0214
Chemistry -0.4071 0.2135 0.0099 * 0.0043 1.1204 * 0.3611 -0.0275 * 0.0084
Geology -0.2350 0.2577 0.0054 0.0052 0.4301 1.0371 -0.0088 0.0249
Math Stats -0.6452 0.6559 0.0120 0.0142 (dropped) 0.0058 0.0126
Math -0.5806 * 0.2628 0.0131 * 0.0054 0.6967 1.2498 -0.0129 0.0291
Physics -0.6576 * 0.2234 0.0148 * 0.0045 0.6113 0.7126 -0.0197 0.0176
Other Math/PhySci -0.3445 0.3278 0.0080 0.0066 -1.8506 1.6186 0.0363 0.0379
35
Table A11: Regression Results - Med. Degrees (incl. Dentistry, Veterinary & Optometry) - Detailed Fields
Men Women
Constant 7.7686 * 0.2306 8.4857 * 0.3281

Age 0.1700 * 0.0098 0.1309 * 0.0149
Age2 -0.0019 * 0.0001 -0.0017 * 0.0002
Veterinary -0.9409 * 0.2191 0.0088 0.0049 -0.4528 0.3192 0.0005 0.0087

Gen Prac Med -0.5219 * 0.1307 0.0150 * 0.0029 -0.7682 * 0.2012 0.0267 * 0.0052
Med Spec non surg -0.2409 0.2212 0.0128 * 0.0048 -0.9859 * 0.3082 0.0384 * 0.0075
Paraclinical -0.7794 1.1590 0.0234 0.0227 -4.5164 2.4551 0.1169 0.0602
Surgery -0.5608 * 0.2290 0.0210 * 0.0049 -0.8342 0.4829 0.0312 * 0.0124
Nursing (dropped) (dropped) (dropped) (dropped)
Optometry 0.2375 0.3083 -0.0122 0.0070 -0.3248 0.5077 0.0077 0.0143
Other -1.1634 * 0.2889 0.0180 * 0.0067 -0.5997 0.4794 0.0102 0.0126
Other Health -0.5467 0.3370 0.0144 0.0075 0.1236 0.5336 0.0006 0.0135
36

Which Fields Pay, Which Fields Don't? An Examination of The Returns To University Education in Canada by Detailed Field of Study

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Which Fields Pay, Which Fields Don't? An Examination of The Returns To University Education in Canada by Detailed Field of Study

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Which Fields Pay, Which Fields Don't? An Examination of The Returns To University Education in Canada by Detailed Field of Study

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Which Fields Pay, Which Fields Don’t?

An Examination of the Returns to University Education in

Economic Studies and Policy Analysis Division

Department of Finance, Canada

The decision to attend university has a significant impact on an individual’s lifetime

The decision to attend university has a significant impact on an individual’s lifetime

3.1 Computation of Rates of Return

3.2 Computation of After-tax Earnings

3.3 Additional Assumptions

3.1.1 Timing of Schooling

Table 1: Ages of Students while Attending University

Bachelor’s degree 19-22 4 years

Law degree 23-25 3 years

Degree in Medicine, Dentistry, 23-26 4 years

Master’s degree 23-24 2 years

Ph.D. degree 25-28 4 years

3.1.2 Alternative Earnings

3.1.3 Foregone Earnings

When considering alternative earnings, special attention must be paid to earnings

4.1 Earnings Data

ln (earnings) = β 0 + β 1 Age + β 2 Age 2 + ∑ β 0i Field + ∑ β 1i Field x Age (2)

6.1 Results by Major Field of Study

Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Total - Non-medical degrees * 9.9 12.1 4.1 8.6 1.3 4.3

Non-Science 9.1 11.8 7.0 9.6 0.0 3.4

Education 5.4 11.3 9.4 11.4 4.0 -0.2

Science 11.5 13.5 1.2 5.2 1.7 6.0

Agricultural and Biological 4.9 9.1 0.7 2.9 6.8 8.9

Total - Medical Degrees 15.1 15.9

6.1.1 Bachelor’s Degrees

As indicated in Table 2, at the aggregate level the return to a (non-medical) bachelor’s

6.1.2 Master’s Degrees

6.1.3 Ph.D. Degrees

Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Social Science and Related 10.0 11.7 b 6.2 3.6 7.8

Economics 12.1 14.2 3.2 9.1 4.9 6.5

Table 3b: Rates of Return – Commerce etc., 1995

Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Business and Commerce 13.7 16.1 21.9 25.8 b -0.6

Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Agricultural and Biological 4.9 9.1 0.7 2.9 6.8 8.9

Agricultural 5.4 8.6 -0.2 b 5.7 a

Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Engineering 13.0 13.9 -3.9 -0.7 0.9 b

Aeronautical/Aerospace Eng 8.4 a 22.4 a a a

There is more variation in returns to a master’s degree in engineering, although for

Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.

Math and Physical Science 11.9 14.6 -1.6 2.5 2.9 b

Actuarial Science 21.6 25.0 b a a a

Field Men Women

Medical Degrees 15.1 15.9

Veterinary 7.4 9.0

In the previous section we observed that there is considerable heterogeneity in returns to

7.2 Description of tuition fee increases.

Major Field Tuition (includes additional fees)

Tuition Tuition Inc. rel. to Tuition Inc. rel. to

Non-Medical Bachelor's Degrees

Education 2,728 3,503 28.4 3,959 45.1