Abstract
In this article, the college-going behavior of Japanese female high school seniors was analyzed, using aggregate data for the prefectures of Japan and a national sample of Japanese twelfth graders and their parents. The aim of this analysis was to proposea hypothetical explanation that addresses the mechanisms generating the differences in female college attendance rates among prefectures, focusing on the pecuniary benefits of higher education that vary by region and could be received from both inside and outside the labor market.
Major findings are as follows: first, a mechanism of enrollment choice is at work, which is common to both men and women. The analysis on twelfth graders whose prefectures of residence are in non-metropolitan areas clarified that the total rates of female advancement to colleges and those to colleges outside of living prefecture are higher in the prefectures with more female labor demand for the college-educated (defined as the number of college-educated youth workers divided by that of high-school-educated employees in their twenties in the prefecture where they reside). The female labor demand for college graduates is negatively correlated with the relative wage for females in their early twenties (average hourly wage for college graduates divided by that of the high-school-educated). The smaller the relative wage between high school graduates and those with baccalaureate degrees, the larger college attendance rates are.
Second, there could be another mechanism affecting college-going behavior which might be applicable especially to female students. Regression analyses were conducted, inspired by an economic model that explains schooling investment decisions in terms of marriage-market returns: the increased share from household income and production by college education through enhanced intra-household bargaining power for wives. It was revealed that the total rates of female advancement to colleges and those to colleges outside of home prefecture are positively correlated to the future possibilities of labor participation expected from job opportunities for preceding generations; i.e.students’future prospects for regular employment or self-employment in the prefecture of their origin.
