The Benefits of Starting College in a Recession

Recessions induce enrolment in higher education, but how do students who enrol during bad times end up performing in the labour market? Alena Bicakova, Matias Cortes, and Jacopo Mazza show that college graduates in the UK and the US who enrolled in university during bad economic times had higher earnings once they entered the labour market, compared to those who enrolled during good times. This occurs because they exert greater effort during their studies, and potentially also after entering the labour market.