Determinants of graduates' job opportunities and initial wages in China

Abstract

Based on a sample of new graduates in the Beijing area, this study examines how college prestige, major and sex affect their job search prospects and initial wages. Using a parametric survival approach and a Heckman selection model, it shows that graduates find jobs faster if they come from prestigious universities, signalling ability and qualification. They also receive higher initial wages than graduates from other tertiary education institutions. Engineering and business graduates find jobs more easily than law and science graduates, but liberal arts and social science graduates receive higher wages. Female graduates find jobs faster than male graduates, but they earn less.