Bonnie Palifka

Effects of Study Abroad and Personality on Employment and Earnings: a Study of College Graduates in Mexico Bonnie Palifka

This book addresses the effects of study abroad and personality on earnings and employment. In the second chapter, a hazard model measures the effects of study abroad, extra-curricular activities, and college grades on the transition from college to work for recent graduates of a Mexican university: I find that study abroad is associated with lower employment hazard rates and higher starting wages. The third chapter examines the long-term impact of study abroad on the earnings of Mexican professionals, concluding that completion of a graduate degree abroad contributes significantly to earnings, beyond the language benefits of study abroad. In the fourth chapter, I show that self- assessments and supervisor evaluations of an employee¿s personality differ and may have distinct coefficients in estimated regressions of earnings and occupation.