Hu, Teh-wei, Maw Lin Lee, and Ernst W. Stromsdorfer. 1971. "Economic Returns to Vocational and Comprehensive High School Graduates." Journal of Human Resources 6(1):25-50.

This study compares the costs of vocational and comprehensive secondary education and the labor market performances of graduates of these two types of high schools who did not attend college. The measurements of the labor market performances are in terms of earnings and employment. The data were obtained from the responses to 2,767 mail questionnaires sent in 1966 and 1967 to graduates of high schools in three major cities. Multiple regression analysis is used to measure the net effect of curriculum on the labor market performances for the two types of graduates. The analysis, based on six-year labor market experiences of high school graduates who did not attend college, suggests that the monetary returns of vocational-technical graduates are higher than those of comprehensive graduates.

The authors are, respectively, Associate Professor at the Pennsylvania State University, Professor at the University of Missouri, and Associate Professor at the Indiana University. This article is based in part on A Cost-Effectiveness Study of Vocational Education by the authors, with J. J. Kaufman, Project Director. The study was performed pursuant to a grant from the U.S. Office of Education. Thanks are due to Glen G. Cain and the Workshop on the Household Sector, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin; their comments on an earlier version of this article helped improve it considerably. The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Office of Education position or policy.

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US ISSN 0022-166X

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