Essays in Labor Economics

Abstract

My thesis explores topics in labor economics, with a focus on returns to education using experimental studies. Chapter One investigates how foreign and Chinese master's are received in the Chinese labor market using an audit study through a large Chinese online recruiting website. I find that overall, there is no raw difference between the callbacks for Chinese versus U.S. master's. However, a fake U.S. degree receives higher callback than a real U.S. degree. We suspect the recruiters do not have sufficient knowledge for either of the schools, and that the Chinses translation of the real U.S. school could have led the recruiters to believe it is an unknown Chinses school. This leads to Chapter Two, which uses a resume-rating method to explore what factors affect recruiters' perception of resume qualities, especially for resumes that list a U.S. master's degree. Similar to the previous audit study, I find no raw difference between the ratings for Chinese versus U.S. master's. On the other hand, the returns to universities' admissions selectivity are higher for Chinese master's than U.S. master's. Specifically, I show that recruiters’ familiarity with the U.S. schools matters much more than the schools’ selectivity. I also explore over-qualification (master's versus bachelor's) and gender differences in returns to education. Overall, the first two chapters of my thesis provide a snapshot of the Chinese labor market situation for new bachelor's and master's graduates. In Chapter Three, I explore the relationship between language features and cultural preferences. Specifically, I examine whether having a second-person pronoun politeness distinction in language relates to preferences for income distribution, respect for authority, and trust-level difference between strangers versus family members. Using variation in languages within countries, I show that compared to having no politeness distinction, having a politeness distinction correlates with more respect for authority and mistrust towards strangers.