University Selectivity and the Relative Returns to Higher Education:Evidence from the UK

We study the wage outcomes of university graduates by course (i.e. by subject and institution) using the UK Labour Force Surveys (LFS). We show that the selectivity of undergraduate degree programmes plays an important role in explaining the variation in the relative graduate wages. In fact, we find that much of the variation in relative wages across courses is due to the quality of students selected. Once we allow for course selectivity in our analysis we find that our estimates of the effects of attending the most prestigious HEIs is around 10 percentage points lower than otherwise; the effects of attending the middle ranking HEIs is around 5 percentage points lower; and that of attending these lowest ranking HEIs is unaffected. We go on to consider selection (on observables) into subjects and institutions using the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjusted (IPWRA) method to estimate multiple treatment effects

Early Gender Gaps Among University Graduates

We use data from six cohorts of university graduates in Germany to assess the extent of gender gaps in college and labor market performance twelve to eighteen months after graduation. Men and women enter college in roughly equal numbers, but more women than men complete their degrees. Women enter college with slightly better high school grades, but women leave university with slightly lower marks. Immediately following university completion, male and female full-timers work very similar number of hours per week, but men earn more than women across the pay distribution, with an unadjusted gender gap in full-time monthly earnings of about 20 log points on average. Including a large set of controls reduces the gap to 5-10 log points. The single most important proximate factor that explains the gap is field of study at university

The Effects of General Anesthesia on Human Skin Microcirculation Evaluated by Wavelet Transform.

BACKGROUND: Time-frequency analysis of the laser Doppler flowmetry signal, using wavelet transform, shows periodic oscillations at five characteristic frequencies related to the heart (0.6–2 Hz), respiration (0.15– 0.6 Hz), myogenic activity in the vessel wall (0.052– 0.15 Hz), sympathetic activity (0.021– 0.052 Hz), and very slow oscillations (0.0095– 0.021), which can be modulated by the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine. We hypothesized that wavelet transform of laser Doppler flowmetry signals could detect changes in the microcirculation induced by general anesthesia, such as alterations in vasomotion and sympathetic activity. METHODS: Eleven patients undergoing faciomaxillary surgery were included. Skin microcirculation was measured on the lower forearm with laser Doppler flowmetry and iontophoresis with acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside before and during general anesthesia with propofol, fentanyl, and midazolam. The laser Doppler flowmetry signals were analyzed using wavelet transform. RESULTS: There were significant reductions in spectral amplitudes in the 0.0095–0.021 (P < 0.01), the 0.021–0.052 (P < 0.001), and the 0.052–0.15 Hz frequency interval (P < 0.01) and a significant increase in the 0.15–0.6 Hz frequency interval. General anesthesia had no effect on the difference between acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside on relative amplitudes in the 0.0095–0.021 Hz frequency interval (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: General anesthesia reduces the oscillatory components of the perfusion signal related to sympathetic, myogenic activity and the component modulated by the endothelium. However, the iontophoretic data did not reveal a specific effect on the endothelium. The increase in the 0.15–0.6 Hz interval is related to the effect of mechanical ventilation