On the Size of Sheepskin Effects: A Meta-Analysis

The authors use information gathered from 122 studies on the effects of high school diplomas on wages in different countries worldwide to carry out a meta-analysis that shows high school diplomas have a statistically significant effect on wages of nearly 8 percent. This effect varies whether the country is away from the tropics or whether factors such as sex, race, and continent are taken into account. The authors ’ results also reveal the existence of a publication bias that tends to increase the magnitude of the sheepskin effect. Nevertheless, when the former is factored into the analysis the latter remains statistically significant