Because MBA programs require work experience before admittance, prior wages can be exploited to disentangle the return to the degree from unobserved productivity. We find that controlling for individual fixed effects generally reduces the estimated returns to an MBA, particularly for those in top programs. However, for full-time MBA students attending schools outside of the top-25 the estimated returns are higher when we control for individual fixed effects. We show that there is some evidence that those who take the GMAT but do not obtain an MBA are stronger in dimensions such as workplace skills that are not easily measured.

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Focused on human capital, economists typically explain about half of the gender earnings gap.For a national sample of MBAs, we account for 82 percent of the gap by incorporating noncognitive skills (for example confidence and assertiveness) and preferences regarding family, career, and jobs. Those two sources of gender heterogeneity account for a quarter of the "explained" pay gap, with half due to human capital variables and the other quarter due to hours worked and current job characteristics. Female MBAs appear to pay a penalty for "good citizen" behavior (choosing jobs that contribute to society) and characteristics (higher ethical standards).

We estimate the effects of being obese during adolescence on the likelihood of high school graduation, post-secondary educational attainment, and labor market earnings as an adult (over 13 years later). We use longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), conducted by the Carolina Population Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This is a nationally representative sample of students in grades 7 through 12 for the 1994-95 first wave survey. Three subsequent waves of follow-up interviews occurred in 1996, 2001-02, and finally in 2007-08, when the sample was aged 25-31. Probit and linear regression models with a large set of controls (to minimize any bias that may result from omitting factors related to both adolescent obesity and adult outcomes) are fitted to carry out analyses separately by gender or racial groups. Pathological body weights are most notably present among males, blacks and Hispanics, suggesting possibility that diverging obesity effects may be found across race and gender groups. Unlike some prior research, we find no significant effects of adolescent obesity on high school graduation, but for some demographic groups negative effects are found on college graduation and future income. Policy implications are discussed.

While a substantial literature has established returns to college major and to school quality, we offer the first such estimates for Master's of Business Administration (MBAs). To control for their nonrandom selection of fields, we estimate the returns to MBA concentrations using both ordinary least squares (OLS) with detailed control variables and including individual fixed effects. We find approximately 7% returns for most MBAs but roughly double that for finance and management information systems (MIS). Thus, MBA area of study can matter as much or more than program quality: only attending a top 10, but not 11-25, MBA program trumped studying finance and MIS at a nontop 25 program. (JEL I21, J30, J24)