Returns to qualifications and occupation for males and females: evidence from the British Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) 1998

This study explores the returns to qualifications by occupation for males and females by utilizing a matched employer-employee dataset. It shows that educational qualifications are of a major and significant importance in explaining earnings variation but the effect progressively disappears as one examines their impact at lower ranks of occupational status. Thus, it appears that precisely where workers are located in terms of occupation will determine the pay that they are likely to receive.