Since the 1970s, recessions have become more frequent and severe, causing major changes to the labor market and the importance of education. This study focuses on the problems for employees with master's degrees and MBAs, and asks three questions: 1) Do employees with graduate degrees have higher earnings than bachelor's degree recipients, 2) Do they experience greater job security as a result of their additional education, and 3) Is graduate school a way to avoid unemployment during a recession? Ordinal logistic regression analysis is conducted and finds that master's degrees and MBAs experience very different outcomes, with much higher returns for MBAs, although master's degrees do see higher earnings than bachelor's degrees. Job security is slightly higher for the graduate degrees relative to bachelor's degrees, which could account for the relatively higher earnings.
","abstract_html":"<p>Since the 1970s, recessions have become more frequent and severe, causing major changes to the labor market and the importance of education. This study focuses on the problems for employees with master's degrees and MBAs, and asks three questions: 1) Do employees with graduate degrees have higher earnings than bachelor's degree recipients, 2) Do they experience greater job security as a result of their additional education, and 3) Is graduate school a way to avoid unemployment during a recession? Ordinal logistic regression analysis is conducted and finds that master's degrees and MBAs experience very different outcomes, with much higher returns for MBAs, although master's degrees do see higher earnings than bachelor's degrees. Job security is slightly higher for the graduate degrees relative to bachelor's degrees, which could account for the relatively higher earnings.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Foley, Claire"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Markus P. Schneider, Ph.D.","Yavuz Yasar","Katherine Freeman","Daniel McIntosh"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:35Z","subjects":["Business cycles","Higher education","Labor","Master's degree","Masters of Business Administration","Adult and Continuing Education","Education"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Are MBAs and Master's Degrees Worth It? A Discussion of Wages, Job Security and Business Cycles"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Markus P. Schneider, Ph.D.","Yavuz Yasar","Katherine Freeman","Daniel McIntosh"],"dc:creator":["Foley, Claire"],"dc:date.available":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Since the 1970s, recessions have become more frequent and severe, causing major changes to the labor market and the importance of education. This study focuses on the problems for employees with master's degrees and MBAs, and asks three questions: 1) Do employees with graduate degrees have higher earnings than bachelor's degree recipients, 2) Do they experience greater job security as a result of their additional education, and 3) Is graduate school a way to avoid unemployment during a recession? Ordinal logistic regression analysis is conducted and finds that master's degrees and MBAs experience very different outcomes, with much higher returns for MBAs, although master's degrees do see higher earnings than bachelor's degrees. Job security is slightly higher for the graduate degrees relative to bachelor's degrees, which could account for the relatively higher earnings.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/809"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Business cycles","Higher education","Labor","Master's degree","Masters of Business Administration","Adult and Continuing Education","Education"],"dc:title":["Are MBAs and Master's Degrees Worth It? A Discussion of Wages, Job Security and Business Cycles"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:35Z"}