Do literacy and numeracy pay off? On the relationship between basic skills and earnings

Arbeitspapier

Is there a reward for basic skills in the German labor market? To answer this question, we examine the relationship between literacy, numeracy and monthly gross earnings of full-time employed workers. We use data from the ALWA survey, augmented by test scores on basic cognitive skills as well as administrative earnings data. Our results indicate that earnings are positively related to both types of skills. There furthermore is no evidence for non-linearity in this relationship and only little heterogeneity when differentiating by sub-groups.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IAB-Discussion Paper ; No. 21/2012

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Analysis of Education ; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
• Subject: Literacy ; numeracy ; earnings ; administrative data ; Germany ; ALWA ; Analphabetismus ; Mathematik ; Bildungsniveau ; Lohn ; Schätzung ; Bildungsertrag ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Antoni, Manfred ; Heineck, Guido
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB)
• (where): Nürnberg
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/84924
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET